Suvendu Adhikari claims BJP is forming the government in West Bengal, with initial trends showing the party leading in over 130 seats. He expressed confidence in winning Bhabanipur despite a close initial fight, citing Hindu vote consolidation.
West Bengal LoP and BJP candidate from Nandigram and Bhabanipur, Suvendu Adhikari, on Monday expressed confidence in his party's performance as counting for the Assembly elections is underway. He claimed that initial trends show the BJP leading in over 130 seats, while the Trinamool Congress is around 100. He said the contest in Bhabanipur may be close in the early rounds but expressed confidence that he will take the lead after more rounds of counting.
'BJP is Forming Govt': Adhikari
Speaking to the reporters, Adhikari said, "BJP is forming the Govt. Initial trends show BJP as 135 plus and approx 100 to TMC. Initially, it will be a neck-to-neck fight in Bhabanipur. In the first round of counting, out of the 14 booths, 6 are Muslim-majority. They used to get 90-95% of those votes last time, but it didn't happen this time; there is a crack. I am leading on the 8 Hindu booths. From round 9-10 in Bhabanipur, I will be leading."
"There is anti-incumbency, plus Hindus are consolidated in favour of Lotus. This is a very good signal for us...There has also been a Muslim vote bifurcation, especially in Malda, Mushidabad and Uttar Dinajpur," he further said.
"This time there's a Hindu consolidation, and the way Muslims vote for TMC, they have not done that this time. Some votes have gone to the pro-Muslim party. BJP has also got some in small amounts. I was not expecting such a good performance in the Muslim booth in Nandigram... The guarantee given by PM Modi to build Bengal under his leadership has been in his favour. There is no need to be so hasty. I will tell you after 11:00 AM," Adhikari told ANI.
Close Contest in Early Trends
As early trends from the West Bengal Assembly elections came in around 9 am, a close contest emerged between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Both parties are currently showing about 112 leads each, according to early trends. The EC has yet to release early trends. In Tamil Nadu, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) held a narrow advantage over the AIADMK-led alliance, leading in about 55 seats compared to around 25 for the opposition bloc. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)