The ECI has started the counting of the votes across all counting centres and the early trends show a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) surge in the state after 15 years. The BJP has already crossed majority mark of 148 seats as per early trends being streamed on TV channels.
ECI West Bengal Election Results: No rallies celebrating the victory of candidates will be allowed anywhere in West Bengal on Monday, a senior official of the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office said.
The official also said the poll panel is looking into complaints that agents of different parties were unable to reach counting centres.
“No rallies celebrating wins of candidates following the announcement of results will be allowed anywhere in the state today,” special observer Subrata Gupta told reporters.
The contest in West Bengal is considered a bipolar fight between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The TMC, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been in power in West Bengal for 15 years.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has started vote counting across all counting centres, and early trends indicate a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) surge in the state after 15 years. The BJP has already crossed the majority mark of 148 seats, according to early trends being reported on TV channels.
“We are looking into the issue of agents unable to reach their centres. It will be resolved soon,” he said.
BJP’s rise in Bengal
The BJP has not won assembly elections in West Bengal so far. Yet, it achieved a remarkable milestone in 2019 Lok Sabha elections by winning 18 of the 42 parliamentary seats of Bengal, a sharp increase from 2 seats it had won in 2014.
The BJP began contesting assembly elections in West Bengal as early as 1882. But the saffron party has never been in power in Bengal, where the political landscape, until very recently, has been dominated by the Left, the Congress, and the TMC.
No rallies celebrating wins of candidates following the announcement of results will be allowed anywhere in the state today.
The BJP has not won assembly elections in West Bengal so far, yet it achieved a remarkable milestone in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
In the last ten years, however, the BJP has experienced significant growth in West Bengal and emerged as the primary opposition to the Trinamool Congress(TMC) by increasing its vote share and winning substantial seats in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The saffron party won 77 seats in the 2021 assembly elections and became the state’s principal opposition party.
(With PTI inputs)
About the Author
Gulam Jeelani
Gulam Jeelani is Political Desk Editor at LiveMint with over 16 years of experience covering national and international politics. Based in New Delhi, Jeelani delivers impactful political narratives through breaking stories, in-depth interviews, and analytical pieces at LiveMint since February 2024. The expertise in video production fuels his current responsibilities, which include curating content and conducting video interviews for an expanding digital audience.
Jeelani also travels during elections and key political events and has covered assembly elections in key states apart from national elections. He has previously worked with The Pioneer, Network18, India Today, News9Plus and Hindustan Times.
Jeelani’s tenure at LiveMint and previous experience at print and digital newsrooms have honed his skills in creating compelling text and video stories, explainers, and analysis that resonate with a diverse viewership.
Before moving to New Delhi in 2015, Jeelani was based in Uttar Pradesh, where he worked for five years as a reporter. In 2018, Jeelani was one of the two Indian journalists selected for the Alfred Friendly Fellowship in the US. There, he attended training workshops on reporting and data journalism, and he was attached to the Minneapolis Star Tribune in Minnesota, where he worked as a reporter.
Jeelani is a Bachelor’s in Chemistry and holds a Masters Degree in journalism and mass communication from Aligarh Muslim University. Outside work, he enjoys poetry, cricket and movies.
