West Bengal polls: Close contest between BJP and TMC in early trends

Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav reached the BJP office in Kolkata as vote counting for the West Bengal Assembly elections began. Early trends from postal ballots show a very close contest between the ruling TMC and the opposition BJP.

Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav on Monday arrived at the Bharatiya Janata Party office in Kolkata as the vote counting for the West Bengal Assembly elections is underway.

As per the early trends in West Bengal, the pendulum has been consistently swinging in a close contest between the BJP and the TMC. The BJP-led NDA is ahead with leads in abou 109 seats, while the TMC shows about 106 leads as per early trends. The EC is yet to release any early trends

Counting Across States

In Keralam, a close contest is unfolding between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF), with both sides inching past 60 leads each. These figures reflect initial postal ballot trends, with counting of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) votes scheduled to begin at 8:30 am. The Election Commission is yet to declare any official trends.

As the counting began, patrolling was being carried out with armoured vehicles in West Bengal's Malda, meanwhile, several strong rooms swiftly opened across Keralam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, before the beginning of the counting procedure.

Polling Agents Clash in Counting Centre

A verbal spat broke out between polling agents of both parties, in which TMC alleged of not allowed to take files and pen inside the counting centre, however, the same was allowed to BJP polling agents.

"They are not allowing us to take files or pens inside, but the BJP polling agents are allowed to take them inside. Rules should be the same for everyone. We are the people of Mamata Banerjee. There is no bigger identity than this," a TMC polling agent said.

On the other hand, the BJP accused the TMC polling agents of not carrying identity cards for entering the polling station. "They are not carrying their ID cards. We are wearing our ID cards. They are creating a ruckus unnecessarily. BJP is winning with a majority in West Bengal and even in Bhabanipur," the BJP polling agent said.

Record Voter Turnout

West Bengal recorded the highest-ever voter turnout since independence with an impressive 91.66% polling in Phase-II of the Assembly elections.

In phase-I, the poll participation was 93.19%, taking the combined poll percentage to 92.47%.

Trinamool's Decisive 2021 Victory

In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election, the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee secured a decisive mandate, winning 213 out of 294 seats with a vote share of around 48 per cent, while the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the principal opposition with 77 seats and roughly 38 per cent votes, marking a sharp rise from its previous tally. The Left-Congress alliance failed to win any seat. (ANI)

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