Nandigram, April 23 Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, cast his vote during the first phase of the Assembly elections on Thursday, and stated that there is "no chance" that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will win this time.
Adhikari is contesting the elections in both the Nandigram and Bhabanipur constituencies on the BJP ticket. CM Mamata Banerjee is also contesting the Bhabanipur seat -- her long-standing bastion.
Speaking to reporters after casting his vote in a polling station at Nandanayak Primary School in Nandigram, Adhikari said, "I have talked to the polling agents; the polling is underway, and there are no problems."
When asked how the SIR process would affect the results, the BJP leader said, "When the results are announced, it will become clear how the SIR process removed the fake voters from the state. If there are no fake, duplicate, infiltrators or dead voters, there is no chance for Mamata Banerjee's win."
Earlier in the 2021 Assembly elections, Adhikari had defeated Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram constituency by a narrow margin.
Meanwhile, polling began for 152 Assembly constituencies scattered over 16 districts from 7 a.m. on Thursday in the first phase of the two-phase crucial West Bengal assembly polls.
The voters' enthusiasm over the elections seemed to be quite high this time, with the queues of voters being witnessed in front of some polling stations in several assembly constituencies, much before the beginning of the polling process at 7 a.m. officially.
The 16 districts where polling is being held in the first phase on Thursday are Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, and Malda in North Bengal, and Murshidabad, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Jhargram, Purulia, Bankura, West Burdwan, and Birbhum in South Bengal.
The second phase of polls in West Bengal for the remaining 142 assembly constituencies will be on April 29. The results will be declared on May 4.
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