High voter turnout in fifth phase of LS polls in Bengal advantageous for BJP: Dr Jitendra Singh

New Delhi, May 21 (PTI) Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said the high voter turnout in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal will prove advantageous for the BJP.

Voting in seven Lok Sabha constituencies of West Bengal — Bangaon, Barrackpore, Howrah, Uluberia, Sreerampur, Hooghly and Arambag — was held on May 20.
“Even though the national average was around 60 per cent, West Bengal recorded 73 per cent polling with a clear advantage for the BJP,” said Singh, the Union Minister of State for Personnel.

He said that in spite of the extreme summer heat, each of the seven constituencies recorded high polling. “High voter turnout in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal is going to be advantageous for the BJP,” the minister asserted.

Among the seven constituencies that went to polls on Monday, the highest turnout of 76.90 per cent was recorded in the Arambag Lok Sabha seat, he said.

“Bangaon and Barrackpore constituencies recorded 75.73 per cent and 68.83 per cent voter turnout, respectively,” said the BJP leader, who was assigned the party’s election responsibility for the fifth phase of polls in West Bengal.

The Hooghly constituency recorded a voter turnout of 74.17 per cent, Sreerampur 71.18 per cent polling while in Howrah it was 68.84 per cent, he said.

“An unusually high voter turnout, which was not so much expected, was seen in Uluberia which recorded 74.50 per cent polling,” Singh said.

The Union minister said that Bongaon, Barrackpore and Hooghly were already with the BJP and the party would retain those seats.

“In all, the BJP hopes to win all seven seats where polling took place in phase five on Monday. We are absolutely confident about six seats of these seven,” the minister said.

The huge voter turnout and support for the BJP is a mark of endorsement by the people of West Bengal for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy and schemes, Singh said, adding that this was a reiteration that West Bengal is part of the ‘Viksit Bharat’ journey led by PM Modi.