Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Early trends of the West Bengal assembly election results on Monday indicated significant gains for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in several Muslim-dominated seats.According to initial trends, the BJP appears on track to secure at least 80 out of these 135 seats.BJP candidate and possible chief ministerial face Suvendu Adhikari hailed the outcome, claiming a “visible crack” in the TMC’s Muslim support base.“There has been a Muslim bifurcation. This bifurcation is particularly evident in Malda, Murshidabad, and North Dinajpur. In South Bengal and Cooch Behar, Muslims are still initially leaning more towards the TMC, but the kind of 90–95% consolidation seen in 2021 and 2024 is no longer there,” Adhikari said.“There are visible cracks in that support base,” he added.Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress appears to be struggling to convert votes in these Muslim-dominated seats despite campaigning heavily on the plank of secularism. The TMC is leading in 50 of these seats, while others are ahead in 4 seats.West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that “everything is being reported wrong” and told party workers that there is no need to feel “disheartened.”“Counting agents and candidates should not leave the counting centre. This is the BJP’s plan. I have been saying since yesterday that they will be shown ahead first. They have stopped counting at many places. Such machines have been found in Kalyani, where there is no match. Atrocities are being committed against the TMC from all sides through central forces,” Mamata said.“Through SIR, they tried to steal votes, and even now we are ahead by more than 100 seats, which is not being reported. Everything is being reported wrong. The Election Commission is working entirely as per its own will, and central forces are also with them. The police are also working with the central forces. I tell party workers that there is no need to feel disheartened; you will win after sunset. The counting of 2–4 rounds has taken place; the counting goes up to 14–18 rounds, and we will win. There is no need for anyone to be afraid,” she added.For decades, Muslim-dominated seats were held by the Congress and the Left. In the 2021 assembly election, Trinamool Congress dominated these Muslim-dominated seats, winning 119 out of 135, while the BJP managed just 21. Other parties had a negligible presence.Similarly in 2016, TMC secured 100 seats, followed by the Congress with 25 and the CPM with 13, while the BJP won only 2.West Bengal recorded the highest-ever voter turnout since Independence, with an impressive 91.66% polling in Phase II of the Assembly elections. In Phase I, the poll participation was 93.19%, taking the combined poll percentage to 92.47%.In the 2021 West Bengal assembly election, the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee secured a decisive mandate, winning 213 out of 294 seats with a vote share of around 48%, while the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the principal opposition with 77 seats and roughly 38% of the votes, marking a sharp rise from its previous tally. The Left-Congress alliance failed to win any seats.
