Early counting trends in India’s West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections indicate shifting leads between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), with multiple updates throughout the day showing changes in the projected seat advantage. The 294-seat assembly requires 148 seats for a majority, while counting is being conducted in 293 constituencies after one seat’s polling was cancelled due to irregularities.
Voting was held in two phases on 23 and 29 April. Counting began at 8:00 am local time (8:30 am Bangladesh time) across 77 counting centres in 23 districts, initially starting with postal ballots followed by electronic voting machine (EVM) tallies.
West Bengal: Changing Early Trends
Early results showed frequent changes in the lead between the two main parties across different counting stages:
| Time (BDT) |
BJP Seats Leading |
TMC Seats Leading |
Congress |
| 08:30 am |
40 |
39 |
— |
| 11:00 am |
172 |
112 |
1 |
| 11:30 am |
182 |
109 |
— |
| 12:00 pm |
195 |
95 |
— |
| Latest reported snapshot |
158 |
119 |
— |
These figures reflect progressive updates from different rounds of counting and do not represent final results.
Bhabanipur Constituency Update
In the Bhabanipur constituency, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress was reported to be leading at a later stage of counting. Earlier trends had shown alternating leads between her and her opponent, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari.
Final EVM-based figures from one counting stage showed:
| Candidate |
Party |
Votes |
| Mamata Banerjee |
TMC |
25,942 |
| Suvendu Adhikari |
BJP |
9,236 |
Margin of lead: 16,706 votes
Other States: Parallel Counting Trends
Alongside West Bengal, several Indian states and union territories also reported early counting trends with varying leads across parties.
Tamil Nadu
| Snapshot Time |
DMK/TVC/Other Leads |
| 10:30 am |
DMK: 32 seats; NDA: 2 seats |
| 10:45 am |
DMK: 66 seats; TVK: 61 seats; NDA: 38 seats |
Kerala
| Snapshot Time |
UDF |
LDF |
NDA |
| 10:45 am |
59 |
47 |
6 |
| Later update |
76 |
42 |
5 |
Assam
| Snapshot Time |
NDA |
Congress/INC |
| Early count |
12 |
— |
| Later update |
50 |
35 |
| Alternate snapshot |
83 |
29 |
Puducherry
| Snapshot Time |
NDA |
DMK-Congress |
| Early count |
5–15 (reported range across updates) |
3 |
Political Reactions
West Bengal BJP state president Shamik Bhattacharya stated that BJP workers’ expectations were “becoming reality,” expressing confidence in forming a government based on early counting trends.
Similarly, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari asserted that the BJP would form the government in West Bengal.
Counting Process
Election officials confirmed that counting is being conducted in a structured sequence, beginning with postal ballots followed by EVM votes. Authorities noted that while early trends were available within hours of counting beginning, final results may take longer to confirm depending on the pace of verification across centres.
The evolving figures reflect only early counting stages and remain subject to change as more rounds of vote tallying are completed.
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