The ruling BJP-led NDA is heading to retain power in Assam for the second time in a row as the alliance is leading in 68 seats in the 126-member assembly for which three-phase polling ended on April 6.According to the Election Commission s .
Counting of votes for the Assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory began at 8 am today.
Ballots cast by voters in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will be counted today to ascertain who will form the next government in these states and UT.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) will conduct the vote counting exercise amid tight security and in the backdrop of the pandemic sweeping across the country.
In order to ensure safety of all ECI officials, the poll body has made it mandatory for all candidates and their agents to show a negative RT-PCR test report or a vaccination certificate before they enter counting centres.
Updated May 03, 2021 · 12:35 am West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Sunday. | PTI
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday led the Trinamool Congress to a spectacular victory by defeating the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Assembly elections that were held in a record-eight phase despite the raging coronavirus pandemic. By 12.20 am on Monday, the Trinamool Congress was leading in 213 of Bengal’s 294 seats and the saffron party appeared set to finish below the 100-mark.
The results for Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry have also been trickling in since 8 am.
Anti-incumbency took a beating in West Bengal, Assam and Kerala. In Tamil Nadu, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led alliance was leading in over 150 seats and party chief MK Stalin is all set to become the chief minister for the first time. In Puducherry, the All India NR Congress-led National Democratic Alliance beat the Congress
The identity of Assam's new Chief Minister - the next major talking point now that the BJP has retained power in the state - will be decided in a day or two, senior leader Himanta Biswa Sarma told NDTV Sunday night
Incumbent: NDA (BJP 60, Asom Gana Parishad 14, Bodoland People’s Front 12)
Majority mark: 63
In Assam, the BJP, led by chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, formed its first government in 2016 with a tally of 86 seats along with its alliance partner Asom Gana Parishad. The Congress, which had governed the state for 15 years, was reduced to 26.
This time, the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad and United People’s Party Liberal are contesting the polls in alliance, while the Congress has joined forces with traditional Left parties, Bodoland People’s Front and the All-India United Democratic Front (AIUDF). While the Congress in Bengal dithered over its alliance with the Indian Secular Front, the party’s Assam unit has been upbeat about the alliance with the largely Muslim AIUDF to take on the BJP. About 34 per cent of the population in Assam is Muslim. In North Assam, the Assam Jatiya Parishad and the Raijor Dal could eat into the votes of the NDA partner, AGP.