Clashes, violence break out in Bengal's Asansol amid vote counting
What's the story
Violence erupted at the Asansol Engineering College counting center in West Bengal on Monday as vote counting for the state Assembly elections continued. The incident started with a scuffle between polling agents and escalated into a full-blown clash, resulting in vandalism of chairs and vehicles. Security personnel had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the crowd.
Investigation underway
Political party camp was vandalized: Police
Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate Commissioner Pranav Kumar confirmed that a political party camp was vandalized during the violence. He said efforts are on to identify those responsible for the vandalism. "A political party camp was vandalized. The people responsible for the vandalism are being identified," he said.
Election update
BJP crosses majority mark in West Bengal
The violence comes as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in the West Bengal Assembly elections, crossing the majority mark. According to early trends from the Election Commission of India, the BJP is ahead on 156 seats while Mamata Banerjee's All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) is leading on 86 seats. The BJP's ally BGPM is leading on one seat.
Political shift
BJP's Suvendu Adhikari confident of forming government
If the trends hold, it would be the BJP's first government in West Bengal, ending over a decade-long rule of the Trinamool Congress. This would also be a major political shift for the state, which was under Left rule for 34 years before 2011. West Bengal Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari expressed confidence in a decisive mandate, saying, "The BJP will form the government with more than 180 seats."
Voter turnout
Record voter turnout in West Bengal Assembly elections
The state has witnessed one of its highest-ever voter turnouts with 91.66% polling in Phase II and 93.19% in Phase I. This takes the overall turnout to a record 92.47%. In the 2021 election, the Trinamool Congress had won 213 seats with around 48% vote share, while the BJP had won 77 seats with roughly 38% of the votes.