New Delhi:
The counting for 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal has started on Thursday along with the 542 Lok Sabha seats across India. As per the latest trend, the BJP has breached Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress' forte, with a massive lead in 19 Lok Sabha seats. The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, however, continues to maintain its hold with lead in 22 Lok Sabha seats.Â
A tight three-tier security layer has been laid out during the counting process. Section 144 CrPC of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been imposed in a 100-metre radius of counting venues, while the innermost security layer is being manned by central forces. The Election Commission has directed to deploy 200 cops of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in addition to the 82 companies present to ensure security at the counting centres and check any post-poll violence when the exercise is taken up. State police personnel will not be allowed to enter the counting hall.
There will be 58 counting centres with around 25,000 counting personnel in 78,799 polling stations spread over 294 assembly segments in the state, he said. The Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal was held in seven phases in 42 Lok Sabha constituencies which saw 466 candidates contesting in the poll fight.
Here are Highlights:
12:00 am: The counting for the remaining seats are underway and the result is expected to be declared by early Friday morning.
11:11 pm:Â In Srerampur Lok Sabha seat, Trinamool Congress'Kalyan Banerjee defeats BJP candidate Debjit Sarkar by a margin of 98,536 votes.
11:11 pm:Â Trinamool Congress candidate Abu Taher Khan defeats Trinamool Congress' Abu Neha by a margin of 22,6417 votes from the Murshidabad Lok Sabha seat.
11:10 pm:Â BJP's Medinipur candidate Dilip Ghosh registered victory against Trinamool Congress'Manas Ranjan Bhunia.
11:02 pm:Â Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Debasree Chaudhuri swept the Raiganj Lok Sabha constituency, defeating Trinamool Congress' Kanaialal Agarwal.
10:40 pm:Â Trinamool Congress candidate Sajda Ahmed defeats BJP's Joy Banerjee by a margin of 21,5359 votes from the Uluberia Lok Sabha seats.
10:37 pm:Â Trinamool Congress' Dibyendu Adhikari defeated BJP candidate Sidharthashankar Naskar by a margin of 19,0165 votes from the Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency.
10:24 pm: Tollywood actress and Trinamool Congress candidate Mimi Chakraborty wins the Jadavpur Lok Sabha seats by defeating BJP's Anupam Hazra.
10:18 pm:Â BJP's SS Ahluwalia defeats Trinamool Congress candidate Mamtaz Sanghamitra by a margin of 2,439 votes to bag the Burdwan - Durgapur parliamentary constituency.
09:51 pm: Actor-turned-politician Babul Supriyo retains his Asansol Lok Sabha seats. Supriyo was pitted against Trinamool Congress candidate and yesteryear actress Moon Moon Sen.
09:35 pm:Â BJP candidates Saumitra Khan and Locket Chatterjee emerged victorious in Bishnupur and Hooghly Lok Sabha seats for the first time in the history of West Bengal elections.
09:03 pm: Trinamool Congress candidate Sougata Roy defeats BJP's Samik Bhattacharya from the Dum Dum Lok Sabha seats.
08:59 pm: Congress candidate and Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee loses Jangipur Lok Sabha seat. Congress' Khalipur Rahaman clicnhed the seat.
08:57pm: Trinamool Congress' Mala Roy defeats BJP candidate and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's relative Chandra Kumar Bose from Kolkata Dakshin.
08:56 pm: Trinamool Congress candidate and Tollywood actor Dev Adhikary wins Ghatal Lok Sabha seats.
07:30 pm: Latest available trends: Trinamool Congress: 22, BJP: 19, Congress: 1
06:25 pm:Â For the first time since its formation in 1964, the CPI(M) has drawn a blank in general elections in Bengal.
05:51 pm:Â With trends favouring BJP at the Centre and the party making deep inroads in West Bengal, the saffron party workers and supporters burst into celebrations outside its headquarters here and elsewhere.
#WATCH BJP supporters celebrate on Howrah bridge, West Bengal. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/WqxH2VR3E1
— ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019
05:04 pm: Latest trends available: AITC: 25, BJP: 16, Congress: 1
04:59 pm: While Trinamool Congress still maintains a hold with lead in 25 parliamentary constituencies, Congress' tally is stuck to only one seat. Congress candidate Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is leading from the Baharampur seat.
04:58 pm:Â BJP is leading in Alipurduar, Asansol, Balurghat, Bankura, Bangaon, Bishnupur, Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Hooghly, Jalpaiguri, Jhargram, Malda Dakshin, Medinipur, Purulia, Raiganj and Ranaghat.
03:45 pm: WATCH: Trinamool Congress Candidate from Asansol, Moon Moon Sen reacts on trends, she is trailing BJP candidate Babul Supriyo by over 65,000 votes.
#WATCH TMC Candidate from Asansol, Moon Moon Sen reacts on present trends,she is trailing BJP candidate Babul Supriyo by over 65,000 votes. #WestBengal pic.twitter.com/LFYfTTMMzb
— ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019
02:45 pm:Â In Barasat Lok Sabha seat, Kakoli Ghoshdastidar of the AITC is leading by a margin of 46118 votes against Mrinal Kanti Debnath of BJP.
02:44 pm: In Arambagh, Aparupa Poddar of AITCÂ is ahead of her rival Tapan Kumar Ray of the BJP by 18387 votes.
02:43 pm: BJP candidate Locket Chatterjee is leading by 38,855 votes over AITC candidate Ratna De Nag in Hoogly parliamentary constituency, according to the trends.
02:42 pm: In Uluberia seat, Sajda Ahmed of the AITC is leading by 32,273 votes against Joy Banerjee of the BJP.
02:41 pm: In Jadavpur seat, AITC candidate and actor Mimi Chakraborty is leading by 48202 votes against Anupam Hazra of the BJP.
02:40 pm: In Sreerampore, AITC candidate Kalyan Banerjee is leading by 9320 votes against BJP’s Debjit Sarkar.
02:39 pm:Â In Alipurduar seat in North Bengal, John Barla of the BJP is leading by 45,522 votes against Dasrath Tirkey of the Trinamool Congress.
02:38 pm:Â In Baharampur, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of the Congress is leading by 26,852 votes against Apurba Sarkar of the Trinamool Congress.
02:37 pm:Â Mahua Moitra of the AITC is leading by 44,114 votes against Kalyan Chaubey of the BJP in Krishnagar, while West Bengal Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee is trailing behind Subhas Sarkar of the BJP by 24,561 votes in Bankura.
02:33 pm:Â As BJP surges in Bengal, Mamata Banerjee tweets - 'losers are not losers'.
Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all. Let the counting process be completed fully and the VVPATs matched
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 23, 2019
02:32 pm:Â In Basirhat, Trinamool candidate and actor Nusrat Jahan Ruhi is leading by 65577 votes against BJP candidate Sayantan Basu.
02:30 pm: In the prestigious Kolkata South constituency, Mala Roy of AITC is leading by 212149 votes against BJP’s Chandra Bose, grand-nephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
02:27 pm: Nishith Pramanik of the BJP is trailing by 4,118 votes against TMC’s Paresh Chandra Adhikary in Cooch Behar.
02:25 pm:Â Sougata Roy of the Trinamool Congress is leading by 8,542 votes against Samik Bhattacharya of BJP in Dum Dum Lok Sabha seat.
02:21 pm:Â In Purulia, Jyotirmay Singh Mahato of the BJP is leading by 24,431 votes against Mriganka Mahato of the Trinamool Congress.
02:17 pm:Â In Ghatal Lok Sabha seat, Trinamool Congress candidate and popular actor Dipak Adhikari (Dev) is leading by 10,474 votes against former IPS officer and BJP candidate Bharati Ghosh.
02:13 pm: Former president Pranab Mukherjee’s son Abhijit is trailing by 68575 votes against Khalilur Rahman of the TMC in Jangipur constituency.
02:09 pm:Â In Kolkata North constituency, two-time Trinamool Congress MP from the seat, Sudip Bandopadhyay, is leading by 22034 votes against Rahul Sinha of the BJP.
02:07 pm:Â In Barrackpore seat, TMC candidate Dinesh Trivedi is trailing by 2292 votes against Arjun Singh of the BJP.
02:01 pm:Â BJP state president Dilip Ghosh is leading by just 253 votes against Manas Ranjan Bhunia of the TMC in Medinipur Lok Sabha seat.
01:57 pm:Â Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, is leading by 50931 votes in Diamond Harbour constituency. He is the sitting MP from the seat.
01:50 pm:Â In Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, BJP candidate Raju Bista is leading by 70901 votes against Amar Singh Rai of the TMC.
01:41 pm:Â Union Minister and BJP candidate SS Ahluwalia is ahead by 23444 votes against Mamtaz Sanghamita of the TMC in Burdwan-Durgapur Lok Sabha seat.
01:40 pm:Â Union Minister Babul Supriyo is leading in Asansol constituency by 54984 votes against Moon Moon Sen of the Trinamool Congress.
01:35 pm: Latest trend: Trinamool Congress: 22, BJP: 19, Congress: 1
01:33 pm: As far as the vote share is concerned, the latest Election Commission trend shows that the Trinamool Congress may bag 45% of the total votes polled in West Bengal, while the BJP and the Congress are likely to bag 39 and 5 per cent votes respectively. The vote share of the Left Front may stuck to 7 per cent in this Lok Sabha polls.
01:16 pm:Â Â BJP candidate Locket Chatterjee is leading from Hooghly constituency, where TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee launched her anti-land acquisition agitation in Singur, which catapulted her into the national spotlight.
Chatterjee was leading by over 64,000 votes over Trinamool Congress candidate Ratna De, according to the latest Election Commission trends. In 2014, De had won the seat by 1,89,084 votes.
12:27 pm:Â Visuals of celebrations outside BJP office in Kolkata.
12:18 pm: Congress candidate Deepa Dasmunshi is trailing from Raiganj Lok Sabha seat.
12:10 pm: BJP candidate Arjun Singh takes a lead from Barrackpur Lok Sabha constituency, which was marred by violence during the seven phase general election held between April 11 and May 19.
12:07 pm:Â BJP's Dilip Ghosh leading from West Bengal's Medinipur Lok Sabha seat.
12:05 pm: Nusrat Jahan of Trinamool Congress is leading with a massive margin from Basirhat Lok Sabha seats.
12:04 pm: Trinamool Congress candidate and Tollywood actor Dev Adhikari is leading from Ghatal parliamentary constituency.
12:03 pm: Trinamool Congress' Mimi Chakraborty is leading from Jadavpur Lok Sabha seat.
12:01 pm: Congress candidate and Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee is leading from Jangipur.
12:00 pm: Trinamool Congress' Abhishek Banerjee is leading now from Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha seat.
11:00 am:Â Latest trends in West Bengal: AITC: 24, BJP: 16, Congress: 2
10:44 am: Trinamool Congress leader and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee trailing from Diamond Harbour.
10:00 am:Â Lok Sabha Elections Results: Counting @ 10 am Latest Updates-Â BJP: 18, AITC: 22, Congress: 2.
09:50 am:Â BJP breaches Didi's forte, takes lead in 19 seats.
09:46 am: Trinamool Congress candidate Moon Moon Sen trailing from Asansol constituency.
09:37 am: BJP candidate Babul Supriyo is leading from Asansol Lok Sabha seat.
09:12 am: Trinamool Congress continues its hold in West Bengal, extends lead in 19 seats. BJP and Congress ahead in 9 and 2 seats respectively.
09:08 am: Congress bounced back, takes lead in 4 seats after first round of counting.
08:55 am: Trinamool Congress extends lead to 5 seats.
08:37 am: Trinamool Congress takes early lead in three seats - Ghatal, Barasat and Jalpaiguri, BJP and Congress ahead in two seats each.
08:34 am: Congress is leading in two seats - Malda South and Baharampur.
08:31 am: BJP is leading in Alipurduar and Darjeeling, Trinamool Congress ahead in Jalpaiguri seat.
08:24 am:Â BJP ahead in 2 seats, AITC leading in one.
08:11 am:Â BJP ahead in one Lok Sabha seat in Trinamool Congress' bastion state West Bengal.
08:00 am: Counting begins for 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal.
07:33 am: AITC's ostensive appeasement policy to the minority, it’s rampant corruption and arrogance despite some good works for the rural Bengal and a vacuum in the opposition space gave the BJP a golden opportunity to beat the AITC.
07:26 am:Â West Bengal, where BJP's previous performances got stuck to mere two seats, has become a key state for the party to focus on this election season.
07:05 am:Â Counting of votes to begin at 8 am in West Bengal - visuals from a counting centre in Kolkata.
06:51 am:Â Police personnel were deployed in large number near a strong room where EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) are kept, on the eve of Lok Sabha elections results, at Balurghat in South Dinajpur district of West Bengal.
06:44 am:Â From the removal of Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar to curtailing the last leg of election campaign in the state, West Bengal became a Modi vs Mamata battle ground, days ahead of the Lok Sabha verdict on May 23.
06:40 am:Â The state, ruled by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government, has been marred by violence since the first day of the marathon Lok Sabha polls held between April 11 and May 19.
06:37 am: The seats which will be keenly watched in West Bengal, include Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Raiganj, Jangipur, Maldaha Uttar, Asansol, Bardhaman-Durgapur, Baharampur, Barrackpur, Medinipur, Diamond Harbour, Kolkata Uttar and Kolkata Dakshin.
06:30 am: Some of the key contestants in the state include BJP's Babul Supriyo, Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, actor-turned-politician Moon Moon Sen, and Congress' Abhijit Mukherjee, the son of former president Pranab Mukherjee.
06:29 am:Â In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Trinamool Congress, in a thumping performance, swept 34 of the 42 seats decimating the Left in its victory march, while the BJP made impressive inroads winning two seats in the state.
