Birbhum, April 23 -- Polling is underway at a polling station in Birbhum as voting began at 7 am for the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections on Thursday, with officials confirming that arrangements are in place for a smooth process.

Polling personnel and security forces were deployed early in the morning to ensure the orderly conduct of voting, with procedures being followed as per the Election Commission guidelines.

Presiding Officer Swati Sarkar Pal said that security and booth-level arrangements have been streamlined to facilitate voters.

She said, "Security personnel will manage things outside and send voters inside. BLO plays an important role in these elections and sends the voters inside to cast a vote."

The Presi...