WB election LIVE: Suvendu wins Nandigram by 1736 votes; TMC demands recounting

22:35 May 02

Rahul Gandhi congratulates Mamata Banerjee, people of WB for defeating BJP in Assembly polls

Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday congratulated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the people of the state for defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Assembly elections. 

"I'm happy to congratulate Mamata ji and the people of West Bengal for soundly defeating the BJP", Gandhi tweeted. "We humbly accept the people's mandate. Sincere gratitude to our workers & the millions of people who supported us on the ground. We will continue to fight for our values and ideals. Jai Hind", he tweeted.

22:31 May 02

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday said he is grateful to the people of Nandigram for choosing him as their representative and the MLA from the constituency. 

"My sincere thanks to the great people of Nandigram for their love, trust, blessings, and support, and for choosing me as their representative and the MLA from Nandigram. It is my never-ending commitment to be of service to them and working for their welfare. I am truly grateful!" tweeted Adhikari.

21:48 May 02

Trinamool Congress writes to Chief Electoral office, West Bengal for, "immediate re-counting of votes in Nandigram AC 210 and postal ballots."

21:45 May 02

As the reports of Suvendu Adhikari winning the Nandigram constituency surfaced on media, he left for Kolkata late at night.  

20:57 May 02

Three-member Trinamool Congress delegation is meeting Chief Electoral Officer at EC Office in Kolkata seeking a recount of votes in Nandigram and other issues

20:33 May 02

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar Sunday appreciated Trinamool Congress supremo's "stance" to observe Covid-19 guidelines and peace and called upon the state apparatus to take all steps to ensure peace and order.

In a tweet message, Dhankhar said democracy is all about respecting the mandate of the people.

“Violence has no place in a democracy. Appreciate stance @MamataOfficial to observe Covid guidelines and peace," he said.

“Call upon state apparatus @HomeBengal @WBPolice @KolkataPolice to take all steps to ensure peace and order," the governor tweeted.

19:38 May 02

PM Modi congratulates Mamata; assures full support to state

With initial trends showing the ruling Trinamool Congress seems to have an advantage in the race in West Bengal as the party is leading on 214 seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in 75 seats, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to micro-blogging site to congratulate CM Mamta Banerjee.

"Congratulations to Mamata Didi for Trinamool Congress' win in West Bengal. The Centre will continue to extend all possible support to the West Bengal Government to fulfil people’s aspirations and also to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic," tweeted PM.

"I would like to thank my sisters and brothers of West Bengal who have blessed our party. From a negligible presence earlier, BJP’s presence has significantly increased. BJP will keep serving the people. I applaud each and every Karyakarta for their spirited effort in the polls," read the tweet.

19:34 May 02

BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari has won the Nandigram constituency by 1736 votes. Earlier, it was speculated that CM Mamata Banerjee won the same constituency by 1200 votes.  

19:29 May 02

TMC urges not to speculate results

As there is some sought of confusion over the victory of the Nandigram constituency, CM Mamata Banerjee has urged not to speculate the results as the counting is still underway.

Taking to Twitter, AITC says, "The counting process for Nandigram has not been completed. Please do not speculate".

"I accept the verdict. But I will move the Court because I have information that after the declaration of results there were some manipulations done and I will reveal those,", added West Bengal CM.

18:44 May 02

"I would like to thank everyone. Please adhere to COVID-appropriate behaviour. I request all not to take out victory processions. I urge everyone to go back to their homes now. Our first priority is to control the COVID outbreak. This is the victory of Bengal. Only Bengal can," CM Mamata Banerjee told TMC supporters outside her Kalighat residence in Kolkata. She was also on her feet instead of using a wheelchair that happened to be her companion since March after sustaining injuries during campaigning in Nandigram.

18:25 May 02

As latest reports said BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari won the Nandigram constituency after the 17th round of counting, the TMC has demanded a fresh counting of votes.

Earlier, it was reported that the TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee won the prestige battle by a margin of 1200 votes. 

17:39 May 02

Mamata urges supporters not to take out victory processions

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who has defeated BJP candidate and former colleague Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram constituency by 1,200 votes, has requested her supporters not to take out victory processions amid ongoing pandemic. "I urge everyone to go back to their homes now. I will address the media after 6 pm," said Banerjee.

17:03 May 02

EC asks political parties to stop poll victory celebrations

Considering inputs of victory celebrations at some locations during counting of votes for 822 Assembly seats in four states and one Union Territory, the Election Commission on Sunday directed heads of political parties to prohibit these celebrations.

The poll panel's order came after it found out about such celebrations by the followers of some political parties in some states despite the commission's two orders issued last month and one on Sunday to ban such activities to avoid Covid spread.

The commission directed that "urgent action by heads of political parties" should be taken to prohibit victory celebrations during or after counting of votes which began at 8 a.m. on Sunday in Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Puducherry. The election was concluded in these regions last month.

"It has been brought to the notice of the commission that even after the directions already issued to ban victory celebrations during counting day until the period of MCC (Model Code of Conduct), at some locations in some states, the victory celebrations are being carried out today (Sunday) by the party workers in contravention of the commission's direction dated April 27, 2021, April 28, 2021 and May 1, 2021 wherein such kind of gatherings are prohibited," the EC said in a letter.

The commission has expressed its "displeasure on the failure of certain parties to abide by the extant instructions or guidelines".

16:42 May 02

Adhikari's party office wears deserted look after Mamata's victory

BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari, who had contested against chief minister Mamata Banerjee, lost the battle of the Nandigram constituency on Sunday. His party office wore a deserted look after the announcement of Banerjee's victory from his earlier constituency.  

16:27 May 02

West Bengal Mamata Banerjee wins by 1200 votes from the Nandigram constituency. She has defeated BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. 

16:26 May 02

Rajnath among first BJP leaders to congratulate Mamata on poll win

As the Trinamool Congress, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is looking at a spectacular victory in the West Bengal assembly elections, Senior BJP leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was the first from the BJP to congratulate her. The TMC is on course to win more than two hundred seats in the 294-member assembly. Later, taking to Twitter, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman congratulated Banerjee. Congratulations @MamataOfficial didi on @AITCofficial being elected again in the Assembly election. Good wishes for your next tenure," Tweets Sitharaman.

16:09 May 02

Mamata Banerjee, who has contested against her former colleague Suvendu Adhikari, has again taken a lead by over 824 seats after the 16th round of counting in Nandigram.

16:08 May 02

Indian Secular Front (ISF) chairman Naushad Siddiqui

Indian Secular Front (ISF) chairman Naushad Siddiqui has won from Bhangar in the South 24 Parganas district.

15:50 May 02

BJP candidate from Nandigram, Suvendu Adhikari leads by 6 votes after the 16th round of counting.
 

15:48 May 02

File FIR against people celebrating poll victory: EC to States

As the counting of votes for the Assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory is still in progress, the Election Commission on Sunday directed all the Chief Secretaries concerned to file FIR against people celebrating the anticipated victory of candidates. The official informed that the respective State Chief Secretaries have been asked to take immediate action to stop such gatherings.
 

15:44 May 02

TMC supporters booked for celebrating initial trend in Siliguri

West  Bengal Police booked some TMC supporters for allegedly celebrating the party's initial lead in Siliguri on Sunday. Despite a ban on victory processions imposed by the Election Commission (EC) in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in the country, several party supporters were seen celebrating the lead in several districts of the state.

15:29 May 02

Mamata Banerjee fights back; leading by 3,100 votes 

Mamata Banerjee, who has contested against her former colleague Suvendu Adhikari, has continued to lead by over 3,100 seats in Nandigram.

15:24 May 02

Screenshot grabbed from the official Twitter handle of Congress leader Anand Sharma

Congress leader Anand Sharma congratulates Mamata as TMC crosses 200 in leads

With initial trends showing the ruling Trinamool Congress seems to have an advantage in the race in West Bengal as the party is leading on 202 seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in 78 seats, Congress leader Anand Sharma congratulated TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for 'landslide victory'.

15:24 May 02

Screenshot grabbed from the official Twitter handle of Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi

Senior advocate and Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi congratulated TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for a 'landslide victory'.

15:12 May 02

Mamata Banerjee fights back

Mamata Banerjee fights back

Mamata Banerjee, who has contested against her former colleague Suvendu Adhikari, has continued to lead by over 1,463 seats in Nandigram.

14:55 May 02

TMC workers start celebrating as trends show party leading

Despite a ban on victory processions imposed by the Election Commission (EC) in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in the country, Trinamool Congress workers and supporters were seen celebrating in large numbers at, Diamond Harbour, Asansol and Durgapur on Sunday, as official trends show the party leading.

14:50 May 02

Trinamool Congress workers and supporters were seen celebrating in large numbers at West Bengal's Durgapur.

14:45 May 02

Trinamool Congress workers and supporters were seen celebrating in large numbers at West Bengal's Diamond Harbour area.

14:21 May 02

BJP wins Siliguri seat. Shankar Ghosh defeats CPI candidate Ashok Bhattacharya.

14:11 May 02

Trinamool Congress supporters in large numbers gathered outside the BJP office in Kolkata's Hastings area, as TMC leads in 200 plus seats. 

13:59 May 02

Kejriwal Tweets

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to congratulate TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee over the Bengal victory.

"Congratulations@MamataOfficialdidi for the landslide victory. What a fight! Congratulations to the people of WB", Kejriwal Tweeted.

13:57 May 02

I was always telling the press that Mamata Banerjee will be CM for the 3rd time. BJP tried their best to crack but they didn't succeed. The Left has now vanished from West Bengal due to their wrong policy of taking a communal force against a communal force: Firhad Hakim, TMC

"You've to be secular in the fight against a communal force. That was done by TMC. We're committed to secularism, committed to development. We're committed to bringing the people together. We can't fight a communal battle against a communal force", he added.

13:38 May 02

Sharad Pawar Tweets

Taking to Twitter, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar congratulated TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee for the stupendous Bengal victory.

"Congratulations  @MamataOfficialon your stupendous victory!

Let us continue our work towards the welfare of people and tackling the Pandemic collectively," he tweeted.

13:34 May 02

Police personnel instructs TMC supporters to stop celebrations in Asansol

EC asks States/UTs to "prohibit victory celebrations urgently", also directs that responsible SHOs/officers must be suspended immediately and criminal& disciplinary actions must be initiated

13:03 May 02

Celebrations by TMC supporters begin in Asansol as official trends show the party leading on 202 seats so far. The Election Commission has banned any victory procession amid the COVID-19 situation in the country.

12:37 May 02

As per the latest trends, TMC is set to sweep all the 11 seats of Kolkata

12:32 May 02

BJP candidate Locket Chatterjee trailing by 5782 votes from the Chunchura assembly.

12:29 May 02

TMC supporters celebrate at Kalighat, Kolkata as the party leads on over 200 seats as per official trends.

12:21 May 02

TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee is trailing by 7237 votes from the Nandigram seat after the 6th round of vote counting. Mamata is pitched against BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari.

12:07 May 02

TMC candidate June Malia is leading in the Medinipur assembly constituency.

12:05 May 02

TMC is leading on 207 seats, BJP on 81 and others on 03

According to the latest trends, ruling party TMC is leading on 207 seats, BJP on 81 and others on 03 after fourth round of counting.

11:37 May 02

Initial numbers don't matter, Mamata will form Govt in WB, says Shivsena Leader Sanjay Raut

Shivsena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said that although the Bharatiya Janata Party is giving a tough fight to Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, there will be no change in power in Bengal.

10:55 May 02

BJP candidate Shankar Ghosh is leading by 11000 votes from the Siliguri constituency.

10:54 May 02

Early trends not real indicator of Bengal poll outcome: VIjayvargiya

BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Sunday exuded confidence that his party will form the next government in West Bengal.

He said that the initial trends from postal ballots were "not the real indicator of the final outcome".

"We will cross the magic figure by evening. I am sure that we will form the next government in Bengal," Vijayvargiya, who is also the BJP's Bengal minder, said.

The saffron party, which had managed to secure just three seats in the last assembly elections is making good progress, he stated

10:52 May 02

The ruling TMC surged ahead of challenger BJP in West Bengal, leading in 101 of the 156 seats from where trends were available till 10:30 am.

According to the Election Commission website, the BJP was leading in only 53 places.

The two parties were locked in a neck-and-neck contest in the initial stages of counting.

Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee was, however, trailing her BJP rival and sitting MLA Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram.

West Bengal has a 294-member assembly but elections could not be held for Shamsherganj and Jangipur seats due to the death of candidates. 

10:45 May 02

Deceased TMC candidate Kajal Sinha is leading by 2411 votes from the Kordha assembly constituency. Sinha had died of Covid last month.

10:42 May 02

BJP candidate Nisith Pramanik is leading from Dinhatta seat.

10:42 May 02

Current trends indicate that BJP has slipped to double digits as per leads.

Trinamool Congress now leading on 191 seats. BJP leading on 96 seats Left alliance on 5 seats

Present trends show that TMC is leading with a massive vote share of nearly 50% while BJP is leading with a vote share of around 36%.

10:33 May 02

BJP candidate Babul Supriyo is trailing by 8500 votes from Tollygunj seat against TMC'S Aroop Biswas after the third round of counting

10:29 May 02

As per the latest developments, TMC is leading in 178 seats, BJP in 108 and left parties are leading on 6 seats after third round of counting. Meanwhile, BJP's Rajeev Bandhopadhay is trailing by 3780 votes from  Dongjur seat

10:14 May 02

Mamata Banerjee is trailing by 8206 votes against BJP's Suvendu Adhikari after the third round of counting.

09:51 May 02

BJP's Mukul Roy is leading by 1200 votes from the Krishana Nagar Uttam assembly constituency. Meanwhile, TMC 's Javaid Ahmad Khan is leading by 12, 970 votes from the Kashba constituency.

09:39 May 02

TMC candidate Sobhandesh Chattopadhyay is leading from the Bhabanipur seat. Meanwhile, BJP candidate Babul Supriyo from the Tollygunj constituency is trailing by 7,000 votes.

09:23 May 02

As per the early trends, BJP candidate and former TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari is leading from the Nandigram seat. He is ahead of TMC's Mamata Banerjee by 1947 votes.

09:00 May 02

The TMC and challenger BJP were Sunday locked in a neck-and-neck contest in West Bengal as counting of postal ballots was underway, with the ruling party having a slight edge, officials said.

While the TMC was leading in 90 constituencies, the BJP in 56.

The Left-Congress-ISF candidates are leading in four places.    

08:45 May 02

The counting of votes for West Bengal Polls is underway. Visuals from a counting centre in Haldia of East Midnapore where votes in Haldia, Mahishadal, and Nandigram are being counted.

TMC leader and CM Mamata Banerjee had contested against BJP's Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram.

08:35 May 02

Gopal Som, a counting agent of Congress candidate from Panihati (North 24 Parganas), Tapas Majumder, was taken to a hospital after he fell unconscious at the counting centre.

08:20 May 02

According to the early trends, TMC is leading on 21 seats, BJP on 12  and others are leading on 2 seats.

07:58 May 02

Counting of votes for the assembly elections 2021 began across the state. 

07:33 May 02

Officials, counting agents and others arrive at a counting centre at Siliguri College in Siliguri. Counting of votes for Assembly Elections2021 to begin shortly.

06:10 May 02

Third term for Mamata or will BJP wrest power from TMC?

Kolkata (West Bengal): After eight-phased Assembly polls in West Bengal ended on April 29, the results will finally come out today with the Election Commission set to begin counting of votes at 8 am today. 

While Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) is seeking to seize power for the third consecutive term, the BJP is making claims of winning 200 seats in the 294-member West Bengal Assembly.  

The power-packed campaigns by the main contenders - the Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), involved rallies with large participations and mega roadshows. The third front i.e. the coalition of the Congress, Left Front and Indian Secular Force seemed to be on the back foot when it came to campaigning.

The ambitious BJP did intense campaigning with the goal to topple the incumbent TMC  government in the state. To continue its stride in Bengal especially after an overwhelming result in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in the state, the party brought Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda and many others for campaigning.

Mamata chose Nandigram over her home turf Bhabanipur seat this time to test her fate in the 2021 elections.

Now not just Bengal, but the country's eyes were on Nandigram that witnessed the most high-profile contest on April 1 with the chief minister taking on her former ministerial colleague Suvendu Adhikari, who had joined the BJP in December last year.

Several surveys gave an edge to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). In West Bengal, all exit polls predicted that the BJP would make major inroads and a few also said that the party would emerge victorious.

ANI