Mekliganj, Natabari, Sitai, Sitalkuchi election results | Live updates

Results in Mekliganj, Natabari, Sitai, Sitalkuchi will be key to gauging local electoral shifts, with direct contests between the TMC and BJP

"The counting has begun for the West Bengal assembly polls, held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. This comes following a heated campaigning battle between the incumbent Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While the TMC is aiming for a historic fourth term in the state, the BJP is looking to create history by winning in Bengal for the first time. Apart from the main rivals, the BJP and TMC, other political parties are also in the fray in the West Bengal assembly polls, including the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist). With no surprises, polling in Bengal saw several incidents of violence, particularly between workers of rival parties, as well as reports of tampering with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). This led to repolling at 15 booths in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, in Diamond Harbour and Magrahat Paschim, on May 2, just two days before counting. The decision of repolling was taken by the Election Commission of India following reports of EVM tampering during the second phase of polling held on Thursday, April 29. Bengal has a total of 294 constituencies, out of which 152 seats went to polls in the first phase on April 23, and the remaining 142 seats voted in the second phase on April 29. EC orders repoll in Falta on May 21 The Election Commission of India on Saturday ordered repolling across all 285 polling stations in West Bengal’s Falta assembly constituency following severe electoral offences and subversion of the democratic process during polling in the second and final phase on April 29. The repolling will be held on May 21 between 7 am and 6 pm across all poll booths, including auxiliary polling stations. The votes of the repolling in Falta will be counted on May 24. Voter turnout of 87.6 per cent was recorded in Magrahat Paschim and 86.11 per cent in Diamond Harbour till 5 pm after repolling, leading to a combined voter turnout of 86.9 per cent. Record voter turnout in West Bengal Polling in West Bengal during both the phases saw record voter turnout of over 90 per cent. During phase 1, Bengal recorded a whopping 93.19 per cent turnout and during phase 2, the voter turnout was 91.66 per cent. This means that the combined voter turnout in Bengal was 92.47 per cent. EVM tampering allegations The Election Commission received several complaints of EVM tampering during the second phase of polling in West Bengal. The poll body received at least 77 complaints of EVM tampering during the second phase of voting, of which an official said 32 came from Falta, 13 from Magrahat, 29 from Diamond Harbour, and 3 from Budge Budge. Giving a glimpse into allegations of EVM tampering, EC officials said that the buttons of a political party on EVMs were found covered with adhesive tape or blackened with ink, preventing voters from casting their votes. In other cases, attar was applied to the buttons so that anyone pressing them could be identified by rival parties. Mamata vs Suvendhu in Bhabanipur Among the key candidates in the West Bengal assembly polls is chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is contesting from Bhabanipur and will face BJP's Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, in a high-stakes battle. She won the seat in 2021 with a margin of around 58,000 votes and has now claimed that, after the Special Intensive Revision, around 51,000 voters have been deleted from the constituency. "