As the counting of votes for the West Bengal Assembly elections continues, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on track to form its first-ever government in the state, signaling the end of the Trinamool Congress's hopes for a fourth consecutive term.
The latest trends show the BJP leading in 171 of the 294 seats, while Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is ahead in just 83 seats, far from the majority mark needed to retain power.
The trends also reveal the steep decline of of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which ruled West Bengal for 34 years until Mamata Banerjee ousted them from power in 2011. The party is leading in just one seat—Domkal. Here, CPI(M) candidate Mostafijur Rahaman is ahead by nearly 8,000 votes over his nearest rival, Humayun Kabir of the Trinamool Congress.
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Congress candidate Begam Sahanaj, BJP nominee Nandadulal Pal and Aam Janata Unnayan Party's Md. Mosharaf Hossain are also in the fray in Domkal.
Meanwhile, in Sagardighi, the Left-backed candidate, Mashiur Rahman, is leading. If the CPI(M) wins Domkal, it would only serve as a consolation for the party, which failed to secure any seats in the 2021 Assembly elections despite contesting 138 constituencies.
The CPI(M)’s downfall began in 2011 when the Trinamool Congress ousted the Left Front after 34 years in power. The CPI(M) won 40 out of the 213 seats it contested in that elections. By 2016, the party’s fortunes further diminished, with only 26 seats out of the 148 constituencies it contested.
Interestingly, with Pinarayi Vijayan-led government is set to lose power in Kerala, as the latest trends indicate, this will be the first time since 1970 that the Left front will not be in power in any state in India.
Polling to the 294-member West Bengal assembly was held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The state recorded the highest-ever voter turnout since independence with an impressive 91.66 per cent polling in the second phase. In the phase-I the poll-participation was 93.19 per cent, taking the combined poll percentage to 92.47 per cent.
