Page 10 - West Bengal

West Bengal election results 2026: How key candidates are performing

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

West Bengal election: Mamata tells TMC agents to stay put as BJP leads

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

No victory rallies allowed today after announcement of results: Bengal CEO

West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal said no rallies celebrating the victory of candidates will be allowed in the state on Monday as the counting of votes for 293 assembly seats was underway. He said the counting is going fine and no violence has been reported in the state. "We have directed all DMs not to allow any victory rallies today. These victory processions will be allowed from tomorrow. We don't want any post-poll violence and appeal to everyone to stay calm and maintain peace," the CEO said. Political parties need to take permission from local police stations to bring out victory rallies, he said. "There has been no incident of violence. Any poll-related death was reported from anywhere in Bengal," Agarwal said. The poll panel was looking into complaints that agents of different parties were unable to reach the counting centres, special observer Subrata Gupta told reporters earlier in the day.

Jobs for Bengal, end to migration pain: PM Modi’s big promise at West Bengal poll rally

Bengal endured pain of migration for decades due to lack of jobs, BJP govt's priority will be employment for youth: PM Modi at poll rally.

Tight security across Bengal as counting of votes for Assembly polls begins

More than 250,000 personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), along with the state police, have been deployed at 77 counting centres across 23 districts under a multi-layered security grid

Mamata alleges irregularities near strong rooms, asks workers to stay alert

TMC supremo claimed she had received reports from multiple districts regarding phased load-shedding and disruptions in CCTV surveillance

Street signs: Of balance sheets and West Bengal, Bandhan's 40% sprint

The IPO market feels oddly still these days with only a couple of equity offerings trickling through the past six weeks

EC orders repoll in 285 booths in Bengal's Falta on May 21; counting May 24

The Commission's decision effectively annuls the earlier voting in the constituency, with fresh polling now scheduled later this month

West Bengal repolls: Nearly 72% voter turnout till 3 pm in 15 booths

Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, the official said, adding that till 3 pm, the turnout was 72.43 per cent

'SC asked ECI to implement circular, didn't dismiss TMC plea': Kapil Sibal

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

'No further order needed': SC on TMC plea against EC order on vote counting

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

TMC alleges unauthorised sorting of postal ballot covers, files complaint

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

WB repolls: EVM glitch halts voting for an hour at Diamond Harbour booth

The re-polling comes after BJP's Amit Malviya alleged that voters were prevented from choosing the party candidate at several polling booths in Falta under the Diamond Harbour constituency

WB polls: Voting underway at 15 booths in South 24 Parganas after EC order

Voting began on Saturday at 15 booths in two assembly constituencies in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, where the Election Commission ordered repolls a day ago, following reports of electoral malpractices, an official said. The repolls were ordered in 11 polling stations of Magrahat Paschim assembly constituency and four in Diamond Harbour. Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, the official said. Polling in these two assembly constituencies was held in the second phase of the state elections on April 29. The repoll order was based on reports received from returning officers and observers of the two constituencies and "material circumstances", the Election Commission official said. The BJP had alleged rampant electoral malpractices in certain polling stations of both the assembly seats under the Dimanod Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, which is represented by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. The EC had deputed its special observer, Subrata Gup

Mamata, Abhishek to brief TMC counting agents ahead of Bengal poll results

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

EC orders repolling in 15 polling booths in West Bengal on Saturday

The Election Commission on Friday ordered repolling on May 2 in 15 polling stations in West Bengal, where voting was held on April 29 in the second phase of the assembly elections. In a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of Bengal, the Election Commission (EC) said the repolling has been ordered based on inputs received from the state poll machinery and voting will be held from 7 am to 6 pm. While 11 polling stations are in the Magarhat Paschim assembly constituency, four are in Diamond Harbour. A report about complaints relating to the Falta constituency is awaited. A large number of complaints was received from the constituency. This is the first time that repolling has been ordered in the present set of assembly polls in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. No repolling was recommended in the first phase of the West Bengal polls held on April 23.

Datanomics: Exit polls struggle to gain credibility in Assembly elections

A decade-long review of exit polls highlights systemic inaccuracies in key states, with non-response bias emerging as a major challenge for pollsters

No scope for wrongdoing at counting centres: West Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal

West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal on Friday asserted there is no scope for wrongdoing at the counting centres, stating that round-the-clock CCTV monitoring of strong rooms was in place. TMC spokesperson and Beleghata constituency candidate Kunal Ghosh said that party workers and poll aspirants were keeping a vigil at the counting centres, where the EVMs are stored in strong rooms, as per the direction of party supremo Mamata Banerjee. "There is no scope for any wrongdoing given the arrangements made," CEO Manoj Agarwal told reporters. Stating that round-the-clock CCTV monitoring of the strong rooms is underway, he said people can watch the monitors from outside. "One should have reason and evidence for making allegations," he said, maintaining that the complaints are baseless. A senior police officer said enhanced security arrangements have been made at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, the counting centre for several assembly seats in north and east Kolkata housing

If SIR affects WB polls, it would set a dangerous precedent: Omar Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said if the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls affects the outcome of the West Bengal assembly elections, it would set a dangerous precedent, against which the political parties need to safeguard themselves. Responding to a question about the high drama outside a strong room at Bhabanipur in Kolkata on Thursday night, he said it is West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's right to deploy people to guard the EVMs. "I have always said that I do not accept pre-poll rigging, and that safeguarding the EVMs after the polls is our responsibility. We used to do the same when there were ballot boxes; we would keep our people outside the strong room. So, it was Mamata Banerjee's right to keep people outside the strong room, and she did it," he told reporters here. Abdullah said vote theft is happening through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and not EVMs. "There is a difference between EVM (hacking) and what they are

WB phase-II sees 91.28% third gender turnout; Puducherry tops at 91.81%: EC

West Bengal recorded a strong turnout among third gender electors in the second phase of the assembly polls, with 91.28 per cent of them exercising their franchise, according to the Election Commission. A total of 1,257 third gender electors turned up in two phases of West Bengal elections -- 465 in phase I and 792 in phase II. The turnout stood at 56.79 per cent in phase I, while it rose sharply to 91.28 per cent in phase II. Puducherry, however, recorded the highest overall turnout among third gender electors at 91.81 per cent in the recently-concluded assembly polls. The poll body said Puducherry has 139 third gender electors, of whom 91.81 per cent exercised their franchise. Tamil Nadu has 7,728 third gender electors, out of which 60.49 per cent voted during the April 23 polls. In other states, Assam has 343 third gender electors, registering a turnout of 36.84 per cent, while Kerala has 277 third gender electors, recording a turnout of 57.04 per cent. Polling in Tamil Nadu t