How to vote for Lok Sabha elections 2019 in West Bengal

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Around 18.12 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in the first couple of hours of polling in two parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal on Thursday, an election official said. Polling began at 7 am in Cooch Behar and Alipurduar, where a total of 34,51,883 electorate will decide the fate of 18 candidates. Around 50 per cent of the polling stations in the two Lok Sabha constituencies are under the watch of paramilitary personnel, besides an adequate number of state forces, to ensure a free and fair elections.

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Eight seats in Uttar Pradesh, seven in Maharashtra, six in Bihar, five in Assam, four in Odisha, two each in Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal and one seat in Chhattisgarh are also going to polls. As voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections has started, here are a few guidelines on how to vote for your favourite candidate in the polling booth. You can vote only if your name appears in the Voter List also known as Electoral Roll. Voters can find information on Contesting candidates, Polling Booths, Election Dates & Timings, Identity cards and EVM.

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Voting Process At Polling Booth:

1. Your name will be checked by the polling official on the voter list and your ID proof

2. The polling official will ink your finger, give you a slip and take your signature on a register ie: Form 17A

3. You will have to deposit the slip at the third polling official to show your inked finger and then you can proceed to the polling booth

4. Vote for your candidate by pressing the ballot button opposite the symbol of the candidate of your choice on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). Once you cast your vote, you will hear a beep sound

5. Check the slip that appears in the transparent window of the VVPAT machine. The slip with include the candidate serial number, name and symbol of the party for 7 seconds before it drops in the sealed VVPAT box

6. You can also press NOTA which means None of the Above if you don't like any candidate; it's the last button on the EVM

7. Cameras, Mobile phones or any other gadgets are not allowed inside the polling booth.

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The TMC has nominated Dasarath Tirkey against John Barla of BJP in the seat. The Congress and the RSP candidates are Mohanlal Basumata and Mili Oraon, respectively. In Cooch Behar, the TMC nominated Paresh Adhikari against BJP's Nisith Pramanik. Piya Roy Chowdhury of the Congress and Gobinda Roy of the Forward Bloc are also in the fray.

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Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from Agencies