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With counting of votes complete in West Bengal, the results show that the Trinamool Congress has won 22 seats in the state, while the BJP is at its heels with 18 seats. The Congress was able to win only two seats, and the Left did not even bag one.
In 2014, the TMC had won 34 seats out of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress had managed to pick up four seats, while the BJP and CPI(M) had won two seats each.
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In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress swept the state, winning 34 seats while BJP and the Left front managed to bag only two seats apiece. Congress secured only four seats in the state.
Just before the final phase of polling in West Bengal, violence erupted in Kolkata during Amit Shah’s roadshow, with clashes between Trinamool Congress youth members and BJP workers at College Street, that ended in the vandalism of a bust of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
The clashes broke out near the iconic Presidency College and Calcutta University after ‘black flags were waved’ at Shah and stones were allegedly pelted at his convoy from the hostels of Vidyasagar College.
In the wake of this violence, in a first such action in India's electoral history, the Election Commission ordered campaigning in the nine West Bengal constituencies going to the polls in Phase 7 to end a day earlier.
On counting day, among the key constituencies to watch out for in West Bengal is Asansol, where singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo (BJP) is pitted against the TMC’s Moon Moon Sen. Asansol is one of the only two constituencies that the BJP had managed to win in 2014 in the state.
Bardhaman-Durgapur is another seat to watch out for, which was won by BJP’s SS Ahluwalia in 2014.
Raiganj, one of the two seats the CPM managed to hold on to in 2014, is a three-way contest between the party’s candidate Mohammed Salim, Congress’ Deepa Dasmunshi and BJP’s Deboshree Chowdhury.
In the Jadavpur seat, TMC's celebrity candidate Mimi Chakraborty is locked in a battle with Anupam Hazra of the BJP. The CPI(M) has fielded senior leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya in this seat.
The Basirhat Lok Sabha seat will see another star TMC candidate, Nusrat Jahan, locking horns with BJP's Sayantan Basu.
Former President Pranab Mukherjee’s son Abhijit Mukherjee (Congress) is contesting from Jangipur, which he had retained in 2014 by a slender margin of 8,315 votes.
The counting of votes will begin at 8 am on Thursday. Seen below are visuals from a counting centre in Kolkata.
With the counting having begun, early trends are showing that at 8.10 am, the BJP is leading in one seat in the state. BJP has reportedly taken a lead from the Lok Sabha seat of Alipurduars, which is held by the TMC.
The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC is leading from one seat in West Bengal at 8.25 am.
Around 25,000 officials have been deployed in the state to count votes in 379 counting halls, which are being guarded by 82 companies of central forces.
Besides imposing prohibitory order under Section 144 within 100 metre radius of the counting venues, there will be a three-tier security cordon. Only authorised persons will be allowed to enter the counting venues. For each of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies, there will be a counting observer to monitor the entire process.
Other than the returning officer, assistant returning officers and observers, no other people will be allowed to use mobile phones inside the counting venues. A videographer will document the counting process in each counting centre.
All the counting centres have been kept under strict vigilance of CCTVs.
TMC is leading in two seats in West Bengal as of 8.30 am.
As of 8.40 am, trends are showing that TMC is leading in four seats while the BJP is leading in one seat.
The TMC is leading in eight seats at 9 am, while the BJP is leading in two seats, according to the trends. The Congress has entered the contest, leading in one seat.
TMC is leading in 11 seats in the state, while BJP is leading in four seats. Congress is still holding onto a lead in one seat.
TMC has extended its lead to 14 seats in the state, while BJP is leading in four seats. Congress is still holding onto a lead in one seat.
TMC has extended its lead to 18 seats in the state, while BJP is leading in six seats. Congress is still holding onto a lead in one seat.
While TMC is leading in 18 seats in the state, BJP has extended its lead to seven seats. Congress is still holding on to a lead in one seat.
According to reports, Congress candidate Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury is leading in Maldaha Dakshin, while Union minister Babul Supriyo of the BJP is leading by 3448 votes against Moon Moon Sen of TMC from Asansol Lok Sabha seat, as per initial Election Commission trends. BJP’s candidate from Darjeeling, Raju Singh Bisht, is also leading in the seat.
TMC is leading in 19 seats, BJP is leading in eight seats and Congress has extended its lead to two seats.
Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee is trailing in his Lok Sabha seat of Diamond Harbour by 1500 votes, reports said.
In Coochbehar Lok Sabha seat, Nishith Pramanik of the BJP is leading by 1225 votes against TMC candidate Paresh Chandra Adhikary .
BJP candidate Locket Chatterjee is leading by 2175 votes over TMC candidate Ratna De Nag in Hooghly parliamentary constituency, the trends suggest.
In Uluberia seat, Sajda Ahmed of the AITC is leading by 920 votes against Joy Banerjee of the BJP.
TMC has extended its lead to 21 seats, while BJP is leading in seven seats.
BJP has picked up leads in 12 seats, while TMC is now leading in 20 seats in Bengal.
BJP has picked up lead in 15 seats, while TMC is now leading in 19 seats in Bengal.
TMC is once again leading in 20 seats in Bengal.
From Uluberia Lok Sabha seat, TMC's Sajda Ahmed was leading by 920 votes against BJP's Joy Banerjee at 9.40 am.
TMC is now leading in 22 seats, while BJP is leading in 16 seats.
The BJP has registered a lead in 18 of the seats in the state, while the TMC is leading in 20 seats, as of 10.05 am. Congress is still leading in two seats.
BJP is leading in 17 of the seats in the state, while the TMC is leading in 21 seats, as of 10.10 am. Congress is still leading in two seats.
TMC has extended its lead to 23 seats while BJP is still leading in 17 seats.
Abhishek Banerjee is once again leading in Diamond Harbour, while Khalilur Rehman, also of TMC, is leading in Jangipur, which is the seat of Abhijeet Mukherjee, son of former President of India Pranab Mukherjee.
TMC is leading in 25 seats, while BJP is leading in 15 seats in West Bengal. Congress has held onto its lead in two seats.
In Alipurduars, BJP's John Barla has taken a lead against nearest rival TMC's Dasrath Tirkey. Actress Mimi Chakraborty has taken a slight lead against BJP's Anupam Hazra in Jadavpur. BJP’s Deboshree Chowdhury is leading in Raiganj, against Congress' Deepa Dasmunsi and Left's Mohd. Salim.
In Kolkata North constituency, two-time TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay is leading by 8,010 votes against BJP's Rahul Sinha.
In the prestigious Kolkata South constituency, TMC's Mala Roy is leading by 44,627 votes against BJP's Chandra Bose, the grand-nephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
In Beharampur, INC's Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury leading by 7,402 votes against TMC's Apurba Sarkar.
West Bengal Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee is trailing by 8,360 votes behind BJP's Subhas Sarkar.
TMC's Mahua Moitra is leading by 22,193 votes against BJP's Kalyan Chaubey in Krishnagar constituency.
BJP has extended its lead to 16 seats, while TMC is still holding on to its leads in 25 seats. Congress is now leading in only one seat, the Baharampur seat — where the party has fielded Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
BJP candidates are leading in Howrah and Bankura Lok Sabha seats. While BJP's Subhas Sarkar has taken a lead of 2687 votes over TMC's Subrata Mukherjee in Bankura. In Howrah, TMC’s Prasun Banerjee is leading against BJP's Rantideb Sengupta.
BJP's Debasree Chaudhuri is leading in Raiganj, which is one of the two seats that had been won by CPM in 2014. TMC's candidate is trailing in the seat.
TMC is now leading in 26 seats, while BJP is leading in 15 seats. Congress is still leading in just one seat.
TMC is now leading in 25 seats, while BJP is leading in 16 seats.
According to the Election Commission’s data, TMC has 44.86 percent vote share in West Bengal, BJP has 38.88 percent and Congress has 5.41 percent.
The All India Trinamool Congress Twitter handle congratulated Andhra Pradesh’s YS Jaganmohan Reddy and his YSR Congress Party on its victory in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly election.
It also congratulated Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik and his Biju Janata Dal for their victory in the Odisha Assembly election as well.
TMC is now leading in 24 seats, whereas BJP’s lead has risen to 17 seats.
BJP's Arjun Singh is leading in Barrackpore, while TMC's Mimi Chakraborty is leading in the Jadavpur seat.
Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, is leading in Diamond Harbour constituency. He is the sitting MP from the seat.
Former president Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit is trailing against Khalilur Rehman of the TMC in Jangipur constituency. Abhijit had won the seat by a narrow margin of 8,161 votes in the 2014 general elections.
In Ghatal Lok Sabha seat, TMC candidate and popular actor Deepak Adhikari (Dev) is leading against former IPS officer and BJP candidate Bharati Ghosh.
With trends favouring BJP at the Centre and the party making deep inroads in West Bengal, the saffron party workers and supporters burst into celebrations outside its headquarters in Kolkata and elsewhere.
BJP workers were seen distributing sweets, shouting slogans "phir ek bar Modi sarkar" and dancing to the beat of drums in various parts of the state.
The TMC headquarters at the EM Bypass on the other hand wore a deserted look. The CPM and Congress party offices too wore a deserted look.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted on Thursday that she would share her views after the counting process had been completed, insinuating that any complaints would arise after the VVPATs had been matched.
According to the trends, BJP has increased its lead to 19 seats now, while the TMC’s has fallen to 22. Congress is still at one.
Bengal is looking forward to a saffron storm, with the BJP racing towards an impressive score in the bypolls to eight Assembly constituencies, in consonance with its surge in the parliamentary polls in the state, according to the initial EC trends.
The saffron party is currently ahead in four of the eight Assembly seats, where bypolls were held following the death of a legislator, and resignations by seven sitting MLAs who gave up their seats to contest the Lok Sabha polls.
TMC is leading in three seats, while the Congress is ahead in one.
At Bhatpara, Pawan Kumar Singh of the BJP is leading against ruling TMC candidate Madan Mitra.
In Darjeeling, Neeraj Tamang Zimba of BJP is leading against Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) chairman Binoy Tamang, who is fighting as an independent candidate with the support of AITC.
Reacting to initial trends, BJP national general secretary and Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya said the trends reflect the "anti-TMC mood" of Bengal.
BJP’s Babul Supriyo has maintained a lead in Asansol by a margin of 97,461 votes as of 3:30 pm where he was facing TMC’s Moon Moon Sen.
As per the current EC trends, the TMC has so far secured 44.61 percent votes, closely followed by the BJP, which has bagged 39.03 percent votes.
The CPI(M) and the Congress have garnered a meagre 6.66 percent and 5.44 percent share of the pie respectively.
Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is leading by a margin of 79,225 votes in Baharampur. This is the only seat in West Bengal where Congress currently has a lead.
TMC’s Mala Roy has widened her lead over BJP’s Chandra Kumar Bose by 1,53,652 votes in Kolkata Dakshin.
In consonance with its surge in Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal, the BJP is also striding ahead in four of the eight Assembly seats, where by-elections were held following one death and seven resignations, according to the Election Commission sources.
Babul Supriyo is ahead of TMC's Moon Moon Sen by 1,97,143 votes in Asansol as of 7:30 pm
TMC candidate Nusrat Jahan is leading by 3,11,835 in Basirhat.
TMC's Mimi Chakraborty is ahead of BJP's Anupam Hazra by 2,95,163 in Jadavpur.
Congress' Abu Hasen Khan Chowdhury has taken a late lead in Maldaha Dakshin with a narrow margin of 4,697 votes.
The only other seat that Congress has had a lead on is in Baharampur.
BJP candidate is ahead of TMC candidate Agarwal Kanaialal in Raiganj by 60,799 votes.
Lok Sabha poll results have sounded the death knell for Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal and Mamata Banerjee's party has lost the moral right to continue in office, BJP's state chief Dilip Ghosh said Thursday.
In a dig, he said the TMC supremo should no longer dream of becoming prime minister, rather she should be concerned about saving her chief minister's chair.
"The people of Bengal has given a verdict against TMC and its misrule in Bengal. The TMC has lost the moral right to continue in office. The people want to get rid of this government," Ghosh said.
He himself is headed for a victory from the Midnapore seat.
BJP’s Babul Supriyo wins from Asansol by 1,97,637 votes.
BJP's Arjun Singh wrested the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat from Trinamool Congress's Dinesh Trivedi in a fiercely fought poll battle by a margin of 14,857 votes.
Singh bagged 4,72,994 votes, while Trivedi, the former railway minister, managed to win 4,58,137 votes.
In Bangaon, which has a sizeable number of Matua votes, BJP's Shantanu Thakur defeated Trinamool Congress's Mamata Thakur by a margin of 1,11,594 votes.
Trinamool Congress has won 22 seats in West Bengal, while the BJP has won 18 seats.
The Congress was able to win only two seats. The party's sitting MP from Baharampur in Murshidabad district Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Maldaha South MP Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury managed to retain their respective seats.
Published: 23 May 2019,07:31 AM IST