BJP Nears Two-Thirds Majority in West Bengal as Counting Trends Show Massive Lead

The formation of the next government in West Bengal is now almost certain, with counting underway for 293 out of the 294 Assembly seats. According to data available on the Election Commission of India website as of 3.25 PM, the Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in 194 seats and has already won one seat. A party needs 148 seats to form the government in the state, indicating that the BJP is close to securing a two-thirds majority. Re-polling is scheduled for the Falta seat in South 24 Parganas district.

Trends for all 293 seats show the BJP ahead on 195 seats (including one win), while the ruling All India Trinamool Congress is leading in 91 seats and has won one. The Indian National Congress is ahead in two seats, Humayun Kabir’s Aam Janata Unnayan Party in two, the All India Secular Front in one, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in one seat.

In terms of vote share, the BJP has secured 45.08 percent of the votes so far, while the Trinamool Congress has 40.96 percent. The CPI(M) has received 4.23 percent, and Congress 3.24 percent. Although the vote share gap between BJP and Trinamool is relatively narrow, the seat difference is nearly 100.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is leading from the Bhabanipur seat, but her margin over BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari is gradually shrinking. After 12 rounds of counting, Banerjee is ahead by 7,184 votes, down from a lead of over 17,000 votes earlier.

Meanwhile, Suvendu Adhikari is leading in Nandigram. Among other key candidates, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is trailing in Baharampur. Trinamool’s Firhad Hakim is ahead in Kolkata Port, BJP’s former state president Dilip Ghosh in Kharagpur Sadar, BJP’s Swapan Dasgupta in Rashbehari, Trinamool’s Kunal Ghosh in Beleghata, and BJP’s Nisith Pramanik in Mathabhanga.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress secured 48.02 percent votes and won 215 seats, while the BJP received 37.97 percent votes and won 77 seats. The CPI(M) got 4.71 percent and Congress 3.03 percent votes, but neither party won any seat.