An estimated voter turnout of 61.6% was recorded in the seventh and final phase of polling in the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday, the Election Commission said.

The first phase of polling had recorded an average turnout of 66.14% followed by 66.71% in the second phase. There was 65.68% polling in the third phase and 69.16% in the fourth. The average turnout in the fifth phase was 62.2% and 63.37% in the sixth phase.

This number was as of 11.45 pm on Saturday and the figure will be updated by the field level officers “as polling parties keep returning”, the poll panel said.

On Saturday, polling took place in 13 constituencies in Punjab, 13 in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha, all four in Himachal Pradesh, three in Jharkhand and the lone seat in Chandigarh.

The estimated provisional turnout in the seventh phase in Bihar was 51.9%, 67.9% in Chandigarh, 69.6% in Himachal Pradesh and 70.6% in Jharkhand, the poll panel said.

While Punjab recorded an estimated turnout of 58.3%, the number was 55.5% in Uttar Pradesh, 73.36% in West Bengal and 70.67% in Odisha.

Voters in Odisha were also polling in the Assembly elections.

Counting of votes will take place on June 4.

Also read: In the rise and fall of voter turnout in 2024, a sharp regional divide