Counting Trends By 9 AM: BJP Leads In 73 Seats, TMC Close Behind In Bengal

The initial phase of vote counting for the West Bengal Assembly elections on Monday pointed to a tightly fought contest, with the Bharatiya Janata Party marginally ahead of the ruling All India Trinamool Congress.

By 9 AM, counting trends were available for 134 out of 293 constituencies, according to data released by the Election Commission of India.

The BJP was leading in 73 seats, while the Trinamool Congress followed closely with 59. The Indian National Congress was ahead in two constituencies, whereas candidates from the Left Front, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), had yet to secure a lead.

Regionally, the trends showed a split pattern. Trinamool Congress leads were largely concentrated in southern districts, while BJP gains were more visible in northern parts of the state and select pockets of the south.

Notably, the BJP was ahead in several seats in Malda, a district with a significant minority population.

No early trend was available for the Bhabanipur constituency in south Kolkata, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting against BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari.

Adhikari was, however, leading in Nandigram in East Midnapore, another seat he is contesting.

The Congress leads came from Malda district, where Mausam Benazir Noor was ahead in the Malatipur constituency. Among other prominent figures, BJP leaders Dilip Ghosh and Jagannath Chattopadhyay were also leading in their respective seats.

Counting across constituencies is proceeding in multiple rounds, ranging from a minimum of ten to as many as 26, depending on the number of voters in each segment.

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