West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee issued a message for supporters as the Election Commission counts votes from the recent Assembly elections. She urged party workers to remain vigilant and not to lose morale as the BJP gained ground in early trends. Banerjee claimed that counting had been “stopped” after the initial rounds in around 100 locations — alleging “forceful use of central forces to oppress the TMC”.
“I request all counting agents and candidates not to leave the counting area. This is the BJP’s plan. Since yesterday, I have been saying that they will show their results first in the first two or three rounds and ours later. Counting has been stopped after two or three rounds in about 100 locations,” she said in a video message.
The TMC supremo alleged that seven machines had been ‘found’ in the Kalyani area that had no match or connection. She urged party workers to remain calm and assured that she was with the party and ready to “fight like young tigers”.
“There are still 70-100 seats where we are leading, which they are not reporting. They are feeding entirely false news. The Election Commission is playing according to its will, along with the central forces. Our police are working under the central forces with complete submission. Therefore, I will tell all our counting agents and all our party workers not to be so upset. I said you would win after sunset. Even if three or four rounds have been counted, there are 14-18 rounds in total. You will win then. Wait and watch. We are with you. Don’t be afraid. We will fight like tiger cubs,” Banerjee vowed.
As per leads, Trinamool Congress is headed for a defeat in the State derailing ambitions by Mamata Banerjee of a consecutive fourth term. According to ECI trends, the BJP was leading on 187 seats, while the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress was ahead on 92 seats.
Chief Minister, TMC ministers trail
More than 20 of its ministers were trailing on Monday as the counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly elections indicated a strong BJP surge. Data from the Election Commission indicated that at least 23 ministers were trailing across constituencies, signalling a widespread challenge for the party leadership.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also appears to be struggling to retain her long-term bastion of Bhabanipur in Kolkata. Rival BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari overtook the CM in early trends before Banerjee eked out a significant lead during the afternoon. But the margin dwindled steadily as counting continued on Monday — with Adhikari eventually overtaking the the TMC chief in the evening.