In West Bengal, 18 candidates are contesting from two constituencies. (PTI photo)

The first phase of the Lok Sabha elections saw a mixed turnout across the 18 states and two Union territories where voting was held. West Bengal topped the chart with a turnout of 80.9 per cent, the lowest turnout was in Bihar -- 50.3 per cent.

Polling in northeastern states was off the charts, as Tripura, Nagaland and Manipur and Sikkim posted figures around 80 per cent. Arunachal Pradesh was close with 79.1 per cent. Meghalaya and Mizoram posted figures around 60 per cent.

In the country's largest state, Uttar Pradesh, people across 8 parliamentary seats -- all in the western side of the state -- elected representatives, posting a turnout of 59.8.

With last time's figure hovering around 65.8 per cent, this year's turnout might prove disappointing for Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati -- bitter rivals who have joined hands and are testing their strength.

Andhra Pradesh, where elections were held for 175 assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats, also posted a rather low turnout of 66 per cent -- compared to last time's high of 78.8 per cent.

The would be daunting news for challenger Jaganmohan Reddy of the YSR Congress, since conventional wisdom dictates that governments change only when there is a high turnout. Over the last year, Mr Reddy has crafted campaign around statehood for Andhra Pradesh, having felt the pulse of the people in what was billed as the state's longest footmatch.

Low turnouts were also reported from Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh -- 69 instead of 836 and 57 per cent, more than 10 percentage points below 67.4 of 2014.