An estimated 70 percent of nearly 6.8 million voters exercised their franchise in the peaceful first phase of assembly elections in West Bengal on Monday, the Election Commission said.

The polling passed off peacefully and there was no major incident, Deputy Election Commissioner R Balakrishnan told reporters in New Delhi.

There were stray incidents of poll boycott in five booths in Purulia's Arsa, Raghunathpur and Joypur constituencies due to the Maoists' poll boycott call, sources in Kolkata said. Massive deployment of para-military forces and the state police were made in all the 45 assembly constituencies in the first phase while two helicopters kept watch from the sky.

There were long queues of voters in front of a number of polling booths. Cloudy weather also prompted voters to come out in droves to cast their votes.

The polls will decide the fate of 227 candidates.

• Images: In elephant and Maoist country

Electronic voting machine troubles disrupted polling in two booths in Purulia for some time, while a Midnapore report said there was an altercation between the presiding officer and CRPF personnel on-duty inside a booth at Nayagram in West Midnapore district.

An official report said voters' turnout at Keshpur was over 80 per cent. "The final figure may even cross 90 per cent," it said. West Midnapore district Magistrate D Nariwala said polling was boycotted in one booth at Nayagram, one in Gopiballavpur and two at Binpur on 'local issues'.

Polling in the 45 constituencies comprising 21 in West Midmapore, 11 in Purulia and 13 in Bankura districts would decide the fate of a total 227 candidates. A total of 7,700 polling booths were set up in the three districts to enable an electorate of 32 lakh to exercise their franchise.

Altogether 3,000 digital cameras were installed in nearly 40 per cent of the booths in the three districts to detect cases of impersonation, keep a record of those without identity cards and prevent false voting. Eighty-two general observers and 10 expenses observers were deployed for the 45 constituencies, he said.

Eighty-two general observers and 10 expenses observers were deployed for the 45 constituencies in the first phase.

The Left Front has fielded 43 candidates in the three districts while the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has put up 35 nominees. Trinamool Congress has put up 39 candidates, leaving four to its electoral ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Congress, which is fighting the poll in alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Party for Democratic Socialism, has fielded 36 nominees giving six seats to JMM and two to PDS.