Suvendu Adhikari Claims BJP Lead in West Bengal as Early Counting Trends Show Tight Contest

KOLKATA: Leader of Opposition in West Bengal and BJP candidate from Nandigram and Bhabanipur Suvendu Adhikari on Monday expressed confidence in his party’s performance as counting for the Assembly elections got underway.

Suvendu Adhikari claimed that initial trends indicate the Bharatiya Janata Party leading in over 130 seats, while the Trinamool Congress was around 100.

“BJP is forming the government. Initial trends show BJP at 135 plus and approximately 100 for TMC. Initially, it will be a neck-to-neck fight in Bhabanipur. In the first round, out of 14 booths, six are Muslim-majority. They used to get 90-95% of those votes last time, but it didn’t happen this time; there is a crack. I am leading in the eight Hindu booths. From round 9-10 in Bhabanipur, I will be leading,” he said.

He attributed the performance to anti-incumbency and consolidation of votes in favour of the BJP, adding that there has also been a split in minority votes in regions such as Malda, Murshidabad, and Uttar Dinajpur.

Suvendu Adhikari further said that the assurance given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to develop West Bengal had resonated with voters.

However, early trends around 9 am indicated a close contest between the BJP and TMC, with both parties showing leads in around 112 seats each, though official figures from the Election Commission of India were still awaited.

In Tamil Nadu, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam held a narrow lead over the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led alliance, leading in around 55 seats compared to about 25 for the opposition bloc.(Agencies)