Kolkata: The BJP won 12 seats and was leading in 188 seats, while the TMC bagged six as the counting of votes in West Bengal assembly polls progressed Monday, indicating a saffron surge in the state.
According to Election Commission data, the BJP secured victory in Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Monteswar, Bhatar, Medinipur and Asansol Dakshin seats.
The saffron party also bagged Burwan, Khardaha, Jagatballavpur, Ranibadh, Nakashipara and Jamuria.
BJP’s Bharat Kumar Chetri won the Kalimpong seat by a margin of 21,464 votes, Saikat Panja secured victory in Purba Bardhaman district’s Monteswar by 14,798 votes, Karfa Soumen in Bhatar constituency of the same district by 6,528 votes, Angimitra Paul in Asansol Dakshin by 40,839 votes, Sankar Kumar Guchhait in Medinipur by 38,747 votes and Noman Rai by a margin of 6,057 votes in Darjeeling.
The saffron party’s Khardaha nominee Kalyan Chakraborty won by 24,486 votes, and Sukhen Kumar Bagdi by 22,300 votes in Burwan.
Its candidate Anupam Ghosh bagged the Jagatballavpur seat with a margin of 6,671 votes, Kshudiram Tudu in Ranibandh by a whopping 52,269 votes, Bijan Mukherjee in Jamuria by 22,514 votes and Santanu Dey in Nakashipara seat by 17,327 votes.
On the other hand, the TMC retained the Bhagawangola seat in Murshidabad district, with its candidate Reyat Hossain Sarkar defeating his nearest candidate by a margin of 56,407.
TMC nominee Sabina Yeasmin won Sujapur by a massive margin of 60,287 votes, Mohammed Noor Alam in Samserganj by 7,587 votes, and Mustafijur Rahaman in Bharatpur by 30,753 votes.
Party candidate Anisur Rahaman bagged Deganga by a vote margin of 17,818 and Abdul Khaleque Molla secured Metiabruz by a huge margin of 87,879 votes.
The party was leading in 84 other seats.
Sources in the TMC said at least 23 ministers were trailing across constituencies, signalling a widespread challenge for the party leadership.
Among the prominent leaders, outgoing Education Minister Bratya Basu was trailing by 20,780 votes, Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja by 14,633 votes, and Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya by 8,859 votes.
Several other ministers, including Sujit Bose, Pulak Roy and Birbaha Hansda were also behind their nearest rivals.
The trend assumes significance as the Mamata Banerjee-led government had relied heavily on its welfare outreach and strong local leadership network, with many of these leaders being key faces of governance at the grassroots level.
The results come amid a high-stakes electoral battle in West Bengal, where counting of votes was underway to determine the composition of the 294-member assembly.
Counting of votes was going on in 293 assembly seats, as polling in Falta in South 24 Parganas district was countermanded by the Election Commission.
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