Ritesh Tiwari, Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from the Kashipur-Belgachhia constituency in Kolkata North, asserted on May 4 that the people of West Bengal have decisively voted in favour of the BJP. He stated, 'The public has rejected her (Mamata Banerjee).'
Speaking to ANI, Tiwari said, “The people of Bengal have voted for us for a landslide victory. From Gangotri to Gangasagar, the Bharatiya Janata Party government, the double-engine government, is just a few hours away.”
Counting of votes is underway across 823 constituencies in key regions, including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Keralam, Assam, and the Union Territory of Puducherry. The process began with postal ballots, followed by counting Electronic Voting Machines from 8:30 am. Round-wise results are being updated in real-time on the ECINET platform and the Election Commission’s official portal. Security has been heightened at all counting centres ahead of the process.
Exit polls for West Bengal forecast a close contest between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) across 294 seats. While some projections, such as those by Chanakya Strategies and Matrize, give an edge to the BJP, others predict a tighter race with the TMC retaining a significant share of seats. Smaller parties are expected to have a limited impact on the outcome.
As counting began, armoured vehicles patrolled West Bengal’s Malda district. Meanwhile, strong rooms opened swiftly in Keralam, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry before the start of vote counting.
A dispute arose between polling agents of the BJP and TMC over the allowance of files and pens inside a counting centre. A TMC polling agent said, “They are not allowing us to take files or pens inside, but the BJP polling agents are allowed to take them inside. Rules should be the same for everyone. We are the people of Mamata Banerjee. There is no bigger identity than this.”