New Delhi, May 4: The West Bengal government has informed the Election Commission that it has provided security to the returning officer of the Nandigram assembly constituency which saw a cliffhanger between TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, sources said on Tuesday.

Banerjee lost by 1,956 votes to former protege-turned-BJP adversary Adhikari.

On Monday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader alleged that the returning officer of Nandigram did not order recounting of votes even after she demanded it as he feared for his life.

The sources said the returning officer was provided security in person and at his home on the directions of the Election Commission (EC), amid reports that he was under pressure while performing his duty.

On Tuesday, the poll panel wrote a fresh letter to the West Bengal government asking it to take all appropriate measures to keep a strict watch and monitor on a regular basis the security provided to the officer.

The EC has also asked that the officer should also be extended appropriate medical support and counselling.

Citing the letter, the sources said that the state government has been told that any pressure or harm or even perception or furtherance of any such narrative shall have serious implications on the entire machinery deployed during the elections.

The state's chief electoral officer (CEO) has already been directed to ensure the safe custody of all election records, including polled EVMs and VVPAT machines, video recordings, and counting records strictly in accordance with laid down guidelines.

The CEO will also coordinate with the state government for additional security measures at such locations, if needed.

In a statement, the poll panel said election-related officers on the ground diligently perform in an extremely competitive political environment with full transparency and fairness.

"...and, therefore, attribution of any motive in such cases is not desirable," it said.

Referring to the developments on Sunday when votes were counted, the EC statement said each counting table had one micro observer.

"Their reports never indicated any impurity of counting process on their respective table," it said.

No doubt was raised on the result of round-wise counting, which enabled the returning officer to proceed uninterruptedly with the counting of votes, the statement said.

"On the basis of Form-17C duly completed by the counting supervisors, returning officer prepared a round-wise statement. In addition, on the computer installed in the counting hall, parallel tabulation work was also done in an excel sheet to counter check any human error," it pointed out.

A copy of each of the rounds' result was shared with all the counting agents and after every round, counting agents signed the result sheets, the EC said.

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Bengaluru (PTI): An estimated 22.34 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 11 am during the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in 14 constituencies in Karnataka on Friday.

Long queues were seen at many polling booths, as people, especially senior citizens and morning walkers, came out to vote during the early hours of the voting, which began at 7 am.

According to election officials, the voter percentage till 11 am was about 22.34 per cent.

Out of 14 segments that are going to polls today, highest turnout of 30.98 per cent was recorded in Dakshina Kannada, followed by Udupi-Chikmagalur 29.03 per cent, and the least 19.21 per cent in Bangalore Central.

The turnout was 19.81 per cent in Bangalore South, and 19.78 per cent in Bangalore North.

In the first phase, the Congress is contesting in all 14 seats, BJP has fielded nominees in 11 and its alliance partner JD(S), which joined the National Democratic Alliance in (NDA) in September last year, in three -- Hassan, Mandya and Kolar.

Besides the three, the segments where elections are being held on Friday are: Udupi-Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South and Chikkballapur.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Congress and JD(S), which were in alliance and ruling the state back then, had secured just one seat each in these 14 segments. The BJP had won in 11 and ensured the victory of a party supported independent candidate in Mandya.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda along with wife Chennamma exercised their franchise at Paduvalahippe village in Hassan district, while his son and former CM H D Kumaraswamy along with wife Anitha and son Nikhil cast vote at Kethaganahalli in Ramanagara district.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah voted at his native village Siddaramanahundi in Mysuru district.

RSS Sarakaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale cast his ballot at Sheshadripuram in Bengaluru.

Rajya Sabha member and 'Dharmadhikari' of the Dharmasthala, Veerendra Heggade, Vishwaprasanna Teertha Swamiji of the Pejavara Mutt, Shivarathri Deshikendra Mahaswamiji of Sri Suttur Math,and Nirmalanandanatha Mahaswamiji of Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math, were among the early voters.

Bangalore South MP and candidate Tejasvi Surya, Hassan candidate and MP Prajwal Revanna, also several film personalities including actor Ravichandran, Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar, Raghavendra Rajkumar, Duniya Vijay and Dhananjay also exercised their democratic right.

According to officials, 101-year-old Narayana Rao and his wife Lakshmi, aged 92, voted in Bengaluru's Padmanabhanagar.

In separate incidents, two brides -- one each from Chikkamagaluru and Madikeri -- dressed in their wedding attire exercised her franchise before reaching the marriage venue in the morning. A groom cast his vote in Chamarajanagar district before rushing to tie the nuptial knot.