A record 91.78 per cent votes — the highest since the Independence — were cast as the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly election ended amid sporadic violence, with both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP expressing optimism over the largely peaceful poll and high turnout.There were a total 3.60 crore voters in 152 of the 294 Assembly constituencies. The elections for the remaining 142 constituencies will be held on April 29 on the final day of the two-phase election.”The turnout has been 91.78 per cent so far. This is the highest-ever voting percentage in West Bengal since the Independence,” said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.The Assembly elections in West Bengal since 2011, when Mamata Banerjee came to power, ending the CPM-led Left Front’s 34-year-old rule, have seen a turnout of over 80-plus per cent. In 2011, the turnout was 84 per cent, and in the subsequent Assembly elections in 2016 and 2021, it was over 82 per cent. But the 91.78 per cent turnout is a new high.In the past, a high turnout has gone in favour of the TMC. But the possibility of more people having come out to cast their vote to register their anger and frustration against the ruling party in the state has also become a strong possibility.BJP leader Amit Shah said the high number was due to a clean electoral list and people’s confidence to come out in numbers to cast their vote for change and against the TMC government.Mamata claimed the high turnout showed the people’s anger against the BJP and the manner in which they were trying to manipulate the election outcome in its favour. The elections were held under the shadow of large-scale name deletions under the SIR exercise.However, despite the claim of a largely peaceful election, in several pockets armed goons were seen beating up BJP candidates, including Suvendu Sarkar in Dakshin Dinajpur’s Kumarganj, and smashing their cars and even attacking the security personnel who were trying to shield the candidates.Many observers have expressed surprise that such attacks could take place even when over 2.5 lakh personnel of the Central police force were deployed to prevent such incidents.The fate of 1,478 candidates, including 167 women, will be decided in Thursday’s poll.Tension rose in Murshidabad as crude bombs were hurled before the polling started. A woman was injured in the explosion. There were also cases of violence and attacks in several other districts.Political blame games intensified, with the TMC, BJP and other parties trading accusations amid reports of violence across multiple districts. From Cooch Behar and Birbhum to Asansol in Bardhaman, there were incidents of clashes, attacks and vandalism by armed hooligans. The TMC, BJP and other political parties all traded charges, but questions remained on the effectiveness of the Central forces in preventing such incidents.