Early trends from the Election Commission of India indicate that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is ahead in the Jhargram Assembly constituency in West Bengal during the initial phase of vote counting. BJP candidate Lakshmi Kanta Sau is currently leading with over 900 votes, while Trinamool Congress candidate Mongal Saren is trailing behind. The counting of votes for the two-phase Assembly polls in West Bengal commenced at 8 a.m. on Monday, starting with the tallying of postal ballots.
The ongoing counting process covers 293 out of 294 Assembly constituencies in the state, with the exception of the Falta Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has introduced a new counting pattern for this election. Unlike previous practices, only postal ballots are being counted for the first 30 minutes, ensuring their completion before the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) votes are tallied.
According to an insider from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), this modified process aims to provide a clear trend in the election results by noon. The electoral battle in West Bengal primarily involves the ruling Trinamool Congress and the main opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the previous 2021 elections, Trinamool Congress secured 216 seats, followed by BJP with 77 and All India Secular Front (AISF) with one seat.
The recent two-phase Assembly polls in West Bengal witnessed a high voter turnout of nearly 93%. Exit polls, with few exceptions, suggest a potential shift from the 15-year Trinamool Congress rule to BJP governance in the state. The main challenge for Congress and the Left Front lies in re-establishing their presence in the state Assembly, having contested independently this time.
