3388 Supporters of the Chief Minister of the eastern state of West Bengal and Trinamool Congress (TMC) Chief, Mamata Banerjee. Reuters photo.
New Delhi, May 2
The ruling Trinamool Congress was ahead of the BJP in the keenly watched state of West Bengal, while the saffron party-led NDA was leading in Assam and the DMK in Tamil Nadu, according to latest trends for Assembly polls.
In Kerala, the ruling LDF is leading in 88 of the 140 Assembly constituencies while the opposition Congress-headed UDF was ahead in 50 segments.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was leading by 3,351 votes in his home turf against his nearest rival C Raghunathan of the Congress, according to Election Commission figures.
The seventh-term MP also has been among the first key figures who heavily criticised the central government in issues starting from demonetisation to Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and lockdown to fuel prices. Her fighting spirit and mass appeal have made her one the tallest opposition figures in the current political arena.
West Bengal election results: Expert view Mamata Banerjee, however, must focus on her governance from here on. There was a lot of discontent among the people of Bengal. In fact, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the electorate of the Left completely gravitated to the BJP as they preferred even the BJP to that of Mamata Banerjee,
The Hindu s N Ram told NDTV.
May 02, 2021 12:43 (IST)
Bengal election results: Expert view The momentum is in favour of the Trinamool. It has been observed in almost all elections that towards the latter rounds of counting, the bump is in favour of the party which has the leads or momentum. And so, Mamata Banerjee could very well go past the 211-mark of 2016, NDTV editorial advisor Dorab Sopariwala said.
[Reuters]
Updated at 2:50 p.m. ET on 2021-05-02
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s party swept the state elections on Sunday, routing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, which many blame for the horrific nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases.
Modi s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came a distant second in state legislature polls, a result that could have long-term national repercussions for the party, analysts said. Still, the party managed to widely increase its share of seats in the state assembly.
For Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) party, this was a third consecutive win in state elections. However, Banerjee lost Nandigram, the seat she was contesting from.