Mamata Banerjee beat protege-turned-foe Suvendu Adhikari in a tough contest in Nandigram, by 1,200 votes. The TMC is set to return to power in West Bengal as the party is leading in over 200 seats.
In the early trends, Banerjee was trailing behind her one-time loyalist and now BJP candidate Adhikari, but by evening, she emerged victorious.
Among those who congratulated Banerjee on her election victory was Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP national general secretary BJP Kailash Vijayvargiya. Vijayvargiya credited Mamata Banerjee for the TMC's astounding performance in Bengal elections, and said his party would introspect the poll results, while Singh said, "My best wishes to her for her next tenure."
Speaking about the TMC's performance, party's national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien described it as a "momentous" day for India and West Bengal.
"An emotional day after fighting the world's most destructive force, MO-SHA's BJP. Filthy campaign aided by agencies and shameless EC. A momentous day for India and Bengal. It is understandable that we are euphoric but we also know that during #COVID we have to celebrate responsibly," he said.
TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said that the trends indicate that the people of the state have given a befitting reply to the repeated "attacks" on CM Banerjee.
—With PTI inputs