Questioning the credibility of the electoral process in the West Bengal assembly polls, senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday accused the Election Commission of acting in a "partisan" manner and alleged large-scale irregularities during the elections won by the BJP. In his first social media post after the declaration of results, Banerjee said the TMC would continue to be a "strong, vocal and uncompromising opposition" both in West Bengal and at the Centre. "Throughout this entire process, we witnessed what we believe was deeply partisan conduct by several government agencies as well as the Election Commission of India," Banerjee said in a post on X. "Democratic institutions that are meant to function impartially appeared compromised, raising serious concerns about the fairness, credibility and transparency of the electoral process in West Bengal," the Diamond Harbour MP wrote. Stating that the TMC fought an extremely difficult election where "nearly 30 lakh genuine voter
The Trinamool Congress condemned the killing of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's personal assistant Chandranath Rath by unidentified men on the northern fringes of Kolkata on Wednesday night and demanded a court-monitored CBI probe into the incident. "We strongly condemn the brutal murder of Chandranath Rath in Madhyamgram tonight, along with the killing of three other TMC workers in incidents of post-poll violence allegedly carried out by BJP-backed miscreants over the last three days, despite the Model Code of Conduct being in force," the party said in a statement. "We demand the strongest possible action in this matter, including a court-monitored CBI probe so that those responsible are identified and brought to justice without delay," it said. Violence and political killings have no place in a democracy, and the guilty must be held accountable at the earliest, the statement added.
Counting of votes started at 8 am across 293 Assembly constituencies, with polling in one seat deferred, taking place at 77 counting centres spread over 23 districts
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday termed the BJP's victory in Bengal and Assam assembly polls a "theft" of the mandate, and a big step forward in the saffron party's mission to "destroy" Indian democracy. Gandhi also came out in support of the TMC, which has been trounced by the BJP in the polls, and urged those gloating over the loss of Mamata Banerjee's party to put petty politics aside. "Some in the Congress, and others, are gloating about TMC's loss.They need to understand this clearly - the theft of Assam and Bengal's mandate is a big step forward by the BJP in its mission to destroy Indian democracy," Gandhi said in a post on X. "Put petty politics aside. This is not about one party or another. This is about India," he said in his post. The BJP ousted Trinamool Congress from power in Bengal and captured power for the third time in a row in Assam in results of assembly polls declared on Monday.
In an election that has upended West Bengal's entrenched political arithmetic, the BJP's sweeping victory has drawn its decisive momentum not merely from traditional strongholds but from unexpected gains in Muslim-dominated districts, where a fractured minority vote quietly rewrote the script that had long favoured the TMC. For over a decade, the TMC's dominance in districts such as Murshidabad, Malda and Uttar Dinajpur rested on a near-complete consolidation of Muslim votes, a bloc that accounts for 50 per cent or more of the population in large parts of this belt. That group, forged in the aftermath of the Left Front's decline in 2011 and reinforced during the polarised 2021 election, appears to have splintered this time with far-reaching consequences. The numbers tell a stark story. Of the 43 assembly seats spread across these three districts, the BJP has surged from just eight seats in 2021 to 19 now. The TMC, which had dominated with 35 seats, has been reduced to 22. The ...
BJP will form its first govt in the state after winning 207 seats, way past the majority mark of 148, to end TMC's 15-year rule. Mamata Banerjee's party managed only 80 seats
West Bengal Assembly election results: BJP crosses majority mark with strong gains, while TMC suffers losses as vote share dips and key regions swing towards BJP in 2026 polls
Ecstatic BJP workers broke into celebrations in across West Bengal as the party took early lead in the state assembly polls.
Vote counting is underway in West Bengal, with BJP ahead in 194 seats as of 2 pm. Counting began at 8 am across 77 centres for 293 constituencies in 23 districts
Mamata Banerjee urged TMC workers to stay at counting centres, alleging BJP and the Election Commission were hiding TMC's real lead as Bengal trends showed BJP ahead
Police resort to lathi charge at Jai Hind Bhavan polling booth in Bhabanipur after BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari alleges attack by TMC workers.
TMC supremo claimed she had received reports from multiple districts regarding phased load-shedding and disruptions in CCTV surveillance
The Commission's decision effectively annuls the earlier voting in the constituency, with fresh polling now scheduled later this month
In the Supreme Court, we decided not to challenge the circular, instead urged the court to implement the circular, said Kapil Sibal while addressing a press conference
The Supreme Court on Saturday said no further order was necessary on the TMC's plea challenging the Calcutta High Court's dismissal of its petition against an Election Commission circular on the deployment of central government personnel for vote counting in West Bengal. A special bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi said the Election Commission (EC) can choose counting personnel and its April 13 circular cannot be said to be incorrect. The poll body said the circular is very clear that there will be a mix of central and state government employees and the apprehension of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) of any wrongdoing is misplaced. The EC assured the court that the circular would be implemented in letter and spirit. At the outset, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the TMC, said the circular was dated April 13, but they came to know about it on April 29. The bench, which held a special sitting, said that the EC can choose counting personnel from only one pool
The TMC on Saturday said it has filed a complaint with the Election Commission, alleging unauthorised sorting of postal ballot covers at an EVM strongroom in Kolkata. TMC workers, who have been camping outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, alleged that eight trunks of postal ballots were brought in at 4 am and were taken to a room, which has no CCTV coverage. "We have been demanding that every single millimetre of space where EVMs and postal ballots be under CCTV surveillance. But as these trunks were taken inside, it was clear that they were taken to a room not under CCTV cover. Why should this happen," a TMC member asked. Voting machines from several assembly segments of northern and eastern Kolkata are stored at the strongroom at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra. As TMC activists were demonstrating, BJP's Shyampukur candidate Purnima Chakraborty reached the spot with her supporters, escalating tensions. Both sides started shouting slogans as police stood between them, attempting to b
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew and TMC's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee will hold a virtual meeting with all counting agents of the party on Saturday afternoon, two days ahead of the counting of votes polled in the assembly elections, a senior party leader said. The meeting, scheduled for 4 pm, will be attended by the counting agents from the 291 Assembly constituencies, where the ruling party fielded its candidates. The Anit Thapa-led Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) contested the remaining three seats in the Darjeeling hills. At the virtual meeting, the leaders are expected to brief the counting agents about their duties to ensure there are no lapses during the counting process on May 4. "The most important instruction to the agents would be to not leave the counting centres till the calculations are officially over and winning certificates handed over to the victors," the senior TMC leader, not wishing to be named, said. "All
Agarwal asserted that the poll body has 'nothing to hide', stressing that they would not allow any 'trouble' to take place in the polling procedures
Hours after party supremo Mamata Banerjee urged TMC leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain a 24-hour vigil over strongrooms housing EVMs, party candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja staged a sit-in protest at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra on Thursday, alleging irregular activities inside the facility. The protest came a day after the second phase of polling in West Bengal on Wednesday, following which EVMs were stored in strongrooms at the centre. Meanwhile, TMC sources said that the CM was also heading to the centre to take stock of the situation. Alleging procedural lapses, TMC leaders claimed party workers stationed outside the strongroom were asked to leave in the afternoon and later received information that the strongroom would be reopened at 4 pm. Speaking on the incident, Ghosh claimed, "Party workers and supporters were present outside the strongroom till 3.30 pm. Suddenly, an email was sent informing that the strongroom would be opened again at 4 pm. We contacted o
BJP wants to forcefully rig elections; our workers and people ready to die, says CM Mamata Banerjee