Preview: With India’s longest ever election over, it’s a tight race between BJP and TMC in Bengal
For BJP, a victory in Bengal would bring it closer to its ‘one-party’ ambition. For Mamata Banerjee, this could be a chance to emerge as a national leader. 4 hours ago The BJP has made a serious bid for a victory, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah campaigning heavily, and engineering defections, to dislodge Mamata Banerjee and her party. | PTI/ AFP/Twitter
After over a month of voting – staggered across eight phases and held under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic – results for the West Bengal Assembly elections will be out on Sunday.
West Bengal Election 2021: Bengal votes in the fifth phase today (Representational)
New Delhi:
West Bengal is voting today in the fifth phase of the assembly elections held amid an alarming surge of coronavirus cases across the country.
45 seats are going to polls in the biggest of the state s eight-phased elections. Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Darjeeling and a part of Nadia, North 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman will vote today in which a total of 319 candidates, including 39 women are contesting.
Bengal has already voted for 135 seats and after today s voting, results for more than half of its 294 seats will be sealed. High-profile contestants include the Trinamool s Bratya Basu, Gautam Deb and Siddiqullah Chowdhury, and the BJP s Jagannath Sarkar - one of five MPs nominated by the party.