The counting of votes in West Bengal was already stressful, and in Asansol it got much worse. Outside the main place where votes were being counted, fighting broke out at the same time as the BJP was suddenly doing very well in the election. Police used batons (lathicharge) to stop the unrest, highlighting the intense competition with Mamata Banerjee’s TMC.
Clashes at a high-stakes counting hub
The fighting happened near Asansol Engineering College, which was a key location for counting votes in the area. It began as a small disagreement between people representing the parties at the polls, but quickly got bigger, involving supporters from both sides, and police reacted quickly.
People at the scene say chairs and cars were damaged during the confusion. Pranav Kumar, the police chief for Asansol Durgapur, said a particular political party was specifically targeted. He said, “A camp belonging to a political party was vandalized. We are finding out who did it.”
The police used batons to break up the crowd as things threatened to spread beyond the college grounds. Officials said they increased security at the building to stop the problems from happening anywhere else while the counting went on throughout the state.
Early trends tilt the state towards BJP
The Election Commission of India says the BJP is in the lead in 156 areas, the Trinamool Congress is ahead in and the BJP’s ally BGPM is leading in one.
If these numbers stay the same, West Bengal could have a BJP government for the very first time. This would end more than ten years of the Trinamool Congress being in power, and it would follow the 34 years of the Left Front government before 2011. This would be a very unusual and important change in the state.
Parties react as margins firm up
Suvendu Adhikari, who leads the opposition in West Bengal and is a prominent member of the BJP, said that the current direction is unstoppable. He stated, “The BJP will get over 180 seats,” and added, “Cry now, it’s completely finished.”
He also directly asked people to vote along religious lines. He said, “All Hindus are supporting Narendra Modi… After four rounds of counting, the BJP is forming the government. BJP means the voting machines of Hindus, TMC means the voting machines of Muslims, except in Malda, Murshidabad and North Dinajpur, where people voted for Congress.”
Turnout and the 2021 baseline
A very large number of people voted in this election, showing how involved voters were. 91.66% of eligible voters participated in Phase II and 93.19% in Phase I, bringing the total participation to 92.47%.
This is very different from 2021. Then, the Trinamool Congress won 213 seats with approximately 48% of the votes and the BJP got 77 seats with about 38% of the votes, becoming the main opposition.
What to watch as counting continues
Officials say the focus now is on stabilising order around counting facilities while adhering to the process under tight security. Key markers will shape the final outcome and post-result landscape:
– Police report a political party camp was vandalised
– Security used lathicharge to disperse the crowd
– ECI trends show BJP 156, TMC 86, BGPM 1
– BJP leader projects more than 180 seats
Besides dealing with the immediate issues of law and order, these predicted results will have implications for how the state is run and the plans of each political party. The TMC will need to protect the areas where they are already strong and watch the final numbers come in. For the BJP, a definite win would completely change the way politics work in West Bengal.
Police in Asansol say they are still trying to find the people who did the damage. With the counting continuing and tension remaining in some places, the administration is trying to both protect the counting process and get ready for the change in power that the early results suggest.
