North 24 Parganas (West Bengal) [India], May 4 : As the counting of votes for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections is underway, Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM) candidate from Noapara, Gargi Chatterjee, on Monday expressed hope for a fair counting process and asserted her expectations of victory.
Talking to reporters, Chatterjee said, "The vote counting should be conducted properly. We hope that we will win."
The candidate also raised concerns over the handling of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips. A day before counting began, VVPAT slips allegedly linked to the Noapara Assembly constituency were reportedly found discarded in the neighbouring Madhyamgram Assembly area.
Chatterjee confirmed, "All those VVPATs found yesterday were mine... I have demanded re-polling."
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party crossed the majority mark in a breathtaking West Bengal election, derailing Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's ambition of a consecutive fourth term.
According to ECI, the BJP is leading on 156 seats, while the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress is leading on 86 seats, and its ally, the BGPM, is leading on one seat, as per trends.
With this, the BJP is on its way to form the first-ever government in West Bengal, breaching a state that saw Trinamool Congress' rule for 15 years and a 34-year period of rule of Communists before that.
West Bengal recorded the highest-ever voter turnout since independence with an impressive 91.66% polling in Phase-II of the Assembly elections. In phase I, the poll participation was 93.19%, taking the combined poll percentage to 92.47%.
In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election, the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee secured a decisive mandate, winning 213 out of 294 seats with a vote share of around 48 per cent, while the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the principal opposition with 77 seats and roughly 38 per cent votes, marking a sharp rise from its previous tally. The Left-Congress alliance failed to win any seats.
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