KOLKATA: West Bengal braces for an unpredictable mandate on Monday after recording the nationwide highest-ever voters’ turnout in the Assembly Election following the deletion of nearly 91 lakh names by the Election Commission in the special intensive revision (SIR) and a fierce legal battle against it by the ruling Trinamul Congress at the Supreme Court.
The two-phase poll on April 23 and 29 from hills to plains here witnessed a close contest between TMC, which has been in power for 15 years, and its main opposition, BJP, under an unprecedented deployment of central government machinery, from paramilitary forces to security and law enforcement agencies, by the EC to make it free and fair at any cost.
This is also the first time in the history of the state when votes of 293 constituencies among 294 will be counted at 77 centres, down from 87, for the announcement of the results since the EC on Saturday cancelled the poll at the remaining one, Falta in South 24 Parganas, for several malpractices in the second phase and announced a fresh poll to be held there on May 21 after the end of the election process.
Most of the 293 seats are expected to see a narrow margin of votes between the winners and losers due to the huge deletions of electors’ names in the SIR. Murshidabad, which is among the top three districts in the list of highest deletions and has a vast minority vote bank, may spring a surprise with new victorious faces as Congress hopes to reopen its account by regaining Berhampore where former MP Adhir Chowdhury contested this time.
All eyes will however be on which way the SIR swings the votes to, ruling or opposition, amid a fear of anti-incumbency in TMC as its supremo Mamata Banerjee faces the toughest battle of her political career in her home turf, Bhowanipore, and beyond to retain her hegemony.
The three-time chief minister, who contested in her domain against her rival and leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari of BJP, discussed her last-minute plans and strategies with her counting agents, party councillors and presidents of eight wards at her residence on Harish Chatterjee Street in Kalighat on Sunday evening after getting assessment reports of her trailing in some of them.
TMC however sounded calm and confident of its fourth term in power. Kolkata Mayor and urban development minister Firhad Hakim, who contested at his constituency, Kolkata Port, this time also, said, “TMC is returning to power with more seats and margin than before. Ms Banerjee is going to become the CM for the fourth time. It is her prerogative when she will take the path, on May 6 or 7.”
In 2021, TMC bagged 213 seats while BJP got 77. The TMC tally later rose to 226 through defections in the opposition and bypoll win. Meanwhile state BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya also hoped for his party’s victory and asked party workers not to get entangled in any violence by TMC. All the BJP candidates offered puja at temples in their constituencies for their luck.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
