West Bengal Assembly Election Results: TMC ahead of BJP, crosses majority mark

After a close fight in the beginning of the counting, trends at 11am showed the ruling Trinamool Congress was leading in 162 seats. The coalition of Left parties, Congress and ISF was trailing at a distant third with three seats.

The ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are locked in a very close fight in West Bengal where the counting of votes for the assembly elections began at 8am on Sunday.

Exit polls have predicted a close contest between the TMC and BJP, who trained guns at each other during massive election rallies that were later criticised for being conducted during the worrisome wave of the Covid-19 pandemic

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After a close fight in the beginning of the counting, trends at 11am showed the ruling Trinamool Congress was leading in 162 seats while the BJP had an advantage over 89 seats. The coalition of Left parties, Congress and ISF was trailing at a distant third with five seats.

All eyes are set on the battleground constituency of Nandigram where incumbent chief minister Mamata Banerjee was trailing by close to 4,000 votes to her ex-aide, BJP's Suvendhu Adhikari.

The battle for Nandigram is important as it was vital for the rise of the Trinamool Congress a decade earlier, when Suvendu, his brother Soumendu, and their father Sisir, as part of the powerful Adhikari family in the region, played a significant role in the anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram. It was on the back of this struggle that Mamata Banerjee was ultimately able to dislodge in 2011 the 34-year Left Front rule in West Bengal.

West Bengal's battle is going to be the most interesting to watch as chief minister Mamata Banerjee aims to grab the post for a third term the BJP, which hasn't announced its CM face, is confident of winning over 200 seats.

Exit polls have predicted a close contest between the TMC and BJP, who trained guns at each other during massive election rallies that were later criticised for being conducted during the worrisome wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

If Mamata Banerjee’s TMC manages to hold on, it will a remarkable achievement as the party has been weakened by desertions, faced significant anti-incumbency, and appeared to be behind the BJP for much of the campaign.