Assembly polls results: In West Bengal, Assam and Kerala, anti-incumbency takes back seat

With the vote counting well-underway, initial trends pointed to a finely poised battle in West Bengal, while LDF has taken a decisive lead in Kerala. By 9am, TMC was leading in 55 seats while the BJP was leading in 51 in West Bengal. 107 out of 294 seats were being counted in West Bengal.

In Kerala, the LDF was leading in 79, the UDF in 60, and the NDA in one, out of a total of 140 seats.

In Tamil Nadu, the DMK was leading in 36 and the AIADMK in 20, as 56 out of 234 seats were counted. 

In Assam, the BJP was leading in 13, and the INC in 6, as 29 out of 126 seats were counting. 

In Puducherry, the BJP was leading in 5, and the INC in 4, as nine out of 30 seats were counted.

The counting of votes for the 822 assembly seats spread across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry had commenced at 2,364 counting halls following the COVID-19 protocols. In 2016, the total number of counting halls was 1,002. The over-200-per cent increase is due to the distancing norms being followed by the poll panel to curb the spread of the coronavirus. West Bengal will have the maximum number of 1,113 counting halls, Kerala 633, Assam 331, Tamil Nadu 256 and Puducherry 31, the EC said.