Kolkata, May 8 (IANS): The final voter turnout in the polling for six Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, including in the Maoist-affected Junglemahal area, stood at over 82 percent - a nearly five percent increase in comparison to the 2009 polls, said an official.
Six parliamentary constituencies witnessed polling Wednesday. People queued up beyond the scheduled ending time of 6 p.m. to cast their votes, leading to a turnout of 82.31 percent.
The areas going to the hustings included the Maoist heartland of Junglemahal -- the large forested stretches of West Medinipur, Bankura and Purulia districts -- where a massive security cover has been provided.
The elections ended two hours before the scheduled time of 6 p.m. in six assembly segments in the Maoist belt.
"The final turnout is 82.31 ppercent for the six seats," an election commission told IANS.
The turnout in the 2009 elections stood at 77.72 percent.
According to chief electoral officer Sunil Gupta, the process overall was "peaceful barring isolated incidents." No major incidents were reported.
Simultaneous bypoll was held to the state assembly in the Kotulpur constituency of Bankura district.