After a fierce campaign that lasted for months, the results of the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal will be announced today, with the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) hoping to continue its dominance. The counting of votes began at 8 am, and early trends are showing a lead for the BJP.
According to Election Commission trends, out of the 42 seats, TMC is leading with 23 seats, followed by 6 seats for the BJP and 3 for Congress. West Bengal’s polling took place in 7 phases to elect 42 members of Parliament from the state, with the 7th phase on June 1. Consequently, Mamata Banerjee skipped the INDIA bloc meeting. Senior leaders of the Congress, Samajwadi Party, CPI-M, CPI, DMK, JMM, AAP, RJD, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar) met at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence on June 1 afternoon, while TMC and PDP did not attend the meeting.
In the exit polls of 2019, pollsters had predicted a close contest between the Modi-led government and TMC, with the BJP expected to win 19 to 23 seats and the Trinamool 19 to 22 seats. Ultimately, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) formed the government by clinching 22 seats, while the BJP came very close by winning 18 seats in the state, and the Indian National Congress (INC) struggled with 2 seats.