As the first round of counting of votes got over in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress and the BJP are engaged in a close fight over postal ballots. The ruling TMC is ahead in 110 seats while BJP in 102 seats.
However, surprisingly, the TMC have regained a major share of the postal ballots they lost in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tried to woo government employees by releasing part of pending DAs and other benefits like pay parity. However, the BJP said they would implement the Seventh Pay Commission for government employees if voted to power.
Despite the encouraging signs, in Nandigram however, Banerjee is trailing against her trusted lieutenant-turned-foe Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP.
The TMC has so far got 41 per cent of the postal ballots and BJP 43 per cent. The saffron party is aiming for more than 50 per cent of the postal ballots.
With many seats likely to end in tight fights, the counting of postal ballots are crucial if the win or defeat are decided by a small margin of votes.
In Malda and Murshidabad, based on postal ballots, the TMC has taken an early lead over the Congress in at least 15 seats, which are known to be Congress bastions.
