The BJP is well ahead of the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, leading in over 190 seats. Mamata Banerjee's party was ahead in 97 seats as per the latest reports, while the Left Front and Congress were leading in two and one seats respectively.
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Current trends indicate that the BJP is gaining traction in border regions, tribal areas, and industrial belts, while the TMC maintains a stronghold in parts of Kolkata and select rural constituencies.
As the saffron party is said to be ending a decade-and-a-half-long legacy of the TMC in West Bengal, here are five of the latest updates that you should know:
- After three rounds of counting in Jadavpur, BJP candidate Sharvari Mukherjee was ahead by more than 3,000 votes. When the fourth round of counting was completed in Uttarpara, CPI(M) candidate Meenakshi Mukherjee was leading by 1,200 votes.
- In West Midnapore, the BJP is leading in Midnapore, Ghatal, and Keshiari, while TMC candidates are reportedly leading in Keshpur, Dantan, Kharagpur Rural, and Narayangarh.
- Meanwhile, in Howrah, the BJP is leading in Udaynarayanpur and Uluberia South. The Trinamool Congress is leading in Panchla, while the saffron party is ahead in Bally. After five rounds, a Trinamool candidate is leading by 941 votes in Jagatballabhpur, Anandabazar Patrika said in a report.
- Aam Janata Unnayan Party chief Humayun Kabir was leading in the Nowda and Rejinagar seats of the Murshidabad district. According to the Election Commission website, Kabir—who was suspended from the TMC over his proposal to build a mosque modelled on the Babri Masjid in the Murshidabad district—led in the Nowda seat by 5,796 votes over his nearest rival after the fifth round of counting.
- The early leads suggest a significant shift in the political landscape of West Bengal as the counting of votes progresses across all districts.