The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday crossed the majority mark in a closely watched West Bengal Assembly election, derailing the bid of Mamata Banerjee for a fourth consecutive term.
According to trends released by the Election Commission of India (ECI), the BJP was leading in 156 seats, while the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Banerjee, was ahead in 86 seats. Its ally, the BGPM, was leading in one seat.
If the trends hold, the BJP is set to form its first-ever government in West Bengal, ending 15 years of TMC rule and breaking into a state that had earlier seen 34 years of Left Front governance.
Leader of Opposition in West Bengal and BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari expressed confidence over the party’s performance.
“The BJP will form the government with more than 180 seats,” Adhikari said.
Taking a swipe at the TMC, he added, “Rone dijiye. Khatam poora khatam.”
He further said, “All Hindus are united in favour of Narendra Modi… After four rounds of counting, the BJP is forming its government. Hindu EVMs mean BJP, Muslim EVMs mean TMC, except Malda, Murshidabad and North Dinajpur, where people have voted for Congress.”
West Bengal recorded one of its highest-ever voter turnouts since Independence, with 91.66% polling in Phase II of the Assembly elections. Phase I saw a turnout of 93.19%, taking the combined polling percentage to 92.47%.
In the previous 2021 Assembly elections, the TMC secured a decisive mandate, winning 213 out of 294 seats with a vote share of around 48%. The BJP had emerged as the principal opposition with 77 seats and approximately 38% of the vote, while the Left-Congress alliance failed to open its account.
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