As votes are being counted in West Bengal, where early trends show the BJP leading by a large margin, reports of violence have emerged from parts of the state. Near the counting center at Asansol Engineering College, a fight broke out during which chairs and vehicles were vandalized.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also issued a distress message accusing the BJP and the Election Commission of not disclosing the TMC-led trends. The BJP-led NDA crossed the majority mark of 148 seats in the states. As of 1pm, it has 183 seats, while TMC is second with 89 seats.
Banerjee called on party workers to remain at the centres, claiming that the vote counting process had stopped.
“As I said yesterday, they will show BJP in the lead after 2-3 rounds… The count has stopped at around 100 places,” she said in her message on Channel X.
“There are about 100 seats in which TNMC is leading, but they have not been disclosed,” she added.
Banerjee drives in Bhabanipur
In Bhabanipur, Banerjee is leading against her BJP rival Suvendu Adhikari. According to ECI data, the Prime Minister is leading with 15,494 votes. Adhikari got 20,028 votes. The Bhabanipur seat will see a total of 20 rounds of counting before the results are announced.
The Election Commission of India is counting votes for assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry. Today, votes are being counted for seven seats in the Sub-Assembly.
