Kolkata: Over 66 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the Howrah Lok Sabha by-poll in West Bengal on Sunday. The polling was peaceful.

Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Gupta told reporters that till 6 PM, when the voting closed, 66.2 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise. "The election was peaceful. There were no incidents of booth capturing or jamming," the CEO said when asked about allegations made by some political parties of malpractices during the polling.

The crucial bypoll is a three-way contest between the Trinamool Congress and its former ally the Congress, and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). The poll was necessitated following the death of Trinamool Congress MP Ambica Banerjee April 25.

The Election Commission is for the first time using GIS-SMS based poll monitoring system, android-based counting application and live monitoring of sensitive area (LMSA).

The GIS-based poll monitoring system is being used in rural areas to capture images and LMSA for Howrah city, with a video camera on a vehicle being used for the first time.

All polling stations are being monitored by digital cameras and video cameras and by micro observers. High resolution digital cameras have been installed in all the 1851 booths, EC sources said.

Tight security is in place with central forces and state armed police deployed.

"All booths are covered by an armed guard," Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Gupta said adding that general observers Vijay Bahadur Singh and I Anwarudeen, besides an expenditure observer Ranjit Kumar are monitoring the bypoll.

Polling began at 7 am and would end at 6 pm, two hours more than the normal schedule. The election has been necessitated by the death of Trinamool Congress MP Ambika Banerjee.

The main fight is between Trinamool Congress, Congress and CPI-M. TMC has fielded former India football captain Prasun Banerjee, while the Congress nominee is lawyer Sanatan and that of CPI(M) is Sridip Bhattacherjee, a former party district secretary.

Though BJP is not contesting the by-poll, local BJP leader Ranjan Pal is in the fray as an independent.