Kolkata, May 7 : The average voting percentage in West Bengal's four Lok Sabha seats was recorded at 49.27 in the first six hours till 1 p.m., said officials here.

The poll-related violent incidents, which were witnessed in the first four hours of voting, scaled down substantially, after the effective management of law & order in and around the booths by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). Instant action was taken by the quick response teams (QRTs) to disperse unnecessary gatherings of crowds near the polling booths.

As per the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, till 1 p.m. the highest polling was recorded in Murshidabad at 50.58 per cent, followed by 49.91 per cent at Jangipur, 48.65 per cent at Maldaha-Dakshin and 47.89 per cent at Maldaha-Uttar.

The polling percentage in the by-election for the Bhagwangola Assembly constituency till the same period is 46.40 per cent.

On Tuesday afternoon, as the BJP candidate from Maldaha-Dakshin constituency Sreerupa Mitra Chowdhury reached a polling booth in English Bazar area, tension mounted as the ruling Trinamool Congress activists started assembling near the booth and started shouting 'Go Back' slogans.

However, tension could not escalate to a serious extent following the timely intervention of the police and CAPF personnel. BJP leadership complained that at Chanchal in Malda district, one voters' assistance camp of the party had to be closed down as the BJP workers sitting there were threatened with dire consequences by the local Trinamool Congress activists. However, the district leadership of Trinamool Congress has denied the allegations.

/IANS