TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee was Wednesday sworn-in as the chief minister of West Bengal for the third consecutive term after securing a massive mandate, and vowed to not give respite to those behind political violence sweeping the state since the election results were announced. Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar administered her the oath of office and secrecy at a low-key ceremony at Raj Bhavan held amid the raging COVID pandemic. Banerjee took the oath in Bengali language. She is the 21st chief minister of West Bengal and 8th person to hold the office. The oath-taking ceremony was held even as the BJP, which has emerged as the main opposition party in the state, held a protest at its Hastings office against attacks on its workers allegedly by the TMC since Sunday night. The party has claimed several of its workers were killed and party offices set on fire and vandalised. Party president J P Nadda and state unit chief Dilip Ghosh were present.
Exit polls give Mamata key edge, DMK ahead
Updated Apr 30, 2021, 4:42 am IST
Left to retain Kerala, BJP tipped to return in Assam, win Puducherry
The results of a majority of the exit polls predict that Trinamul Congress’ Mamata Banerjee has a hurricane edge that could make her retain power for the third time in West Bengal. (Representational Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: The results of a majority of the exit polls predict that Trinamul Congress’ Mamata Banerjee has a hurricane edge that could make her retain power for the third time in West Bengal, while the BJP-led NDA will be a key player in the state, giving a robust challenge to the TMC. The DMK led by M.K. Stalin is projected to sweep to power in Tamil Nadu, replacing the AIADMK. The Left Democratic Front is expected to retain power in Kerala, breaking the cyclic nature of the state. The BJP is tipped to retain power in Assam and also coming to power in Puducherry as part of a coalition, in place of the Congress.
Exit poll results for elections in five states are set to be announced at 7 pm, as news networks try to forecast who will win the high-stakes battles in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
Hat-trick for Mamata in West Bengal, predict all Exit Polls save two
The Republic-CNX poll, however, showed a BJP victory, giving it 138-148 seats, with 128-132 for the Trinamool and 11-21 for the Left
Thursday April 29, 2021 11:03 PM, IANS
New Delhi: Mamata Banerjee s Trinamool Congress is set to retain power in West Bengal, all exit polls, except two, indicated after the month-long, eight-phase Assembly polls ended on Thursday.
Apart from the Axis My India-India Today and the Republic-CNX exit polls, which gave the BJP an edge in the battleground state, all other surveys, including the CVoter Exit Poll for Times Now/ABP News, forecast a third victory for the Trinamool, putting it ahead in the 294-member Assembly.
Voting began at 7 am on Monday amid tight security and concluded at 6 pm. Voting was held in 11,376 polling stations spread across 34 assembly constituencies in five districts. Among the 34 constituencies that went to polls in Phase-VII, six are in Dakshin Dinajpur, six in Malda, nine in Murshidabad, nine in Paschim Bardhaman and four in Kolkata. Among the five districts, Murshidabad recorded the highest voter turnout of 80.37 per cent till 5 pm. The lowest voter turnout was observed in Kolkata South with 60.03 per cent. Constituency-wise, Raninagar in the Murshidabad district recorded the highest voter turnout of 84.35 per cent followed by Bhagabangola at 83.50 per cent. Rashbehari constituency in Kolkata witnessed the lowest voter turnout at 55.93 per cent.