Advertisement

Updated May 2nd, 2021 at 18:19 IST

Suvendu Adhikari defeats Mamata in battle for Nandigram even as TMC marches towards win

This came after Suvendu Adhikari in early trends, continued to lead by a margin of more than 8000 votes till almost the 14th round of counting.

Reported by: Ananya Varma
Image- PTi
Image- PTi | Image:self
Advertisement

After a neck-and-neck contest, TMC-turned-BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari defeated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to gain control over her bastion Nandigram.

This came after Suvendu Adhikari in early trends, continued to lead by a margin of more than 8,000 votes till almost the 14th round of counting. 

The Nandigram battle

In the run-up to the vigorously contested West Bengal polls, Nandigram became the axis of BJP's campaigning. For CM Mamata, this became personal since it was not only her once protege facing her, but Nandigram was also the cradle of the anti-land acquisition movement that catapulted her to power in 2011. In a big decision, the TMC supremo also decided to forgo her Bhowanipore seat, announcing that she will contest only from Nandigram.

Mamata's history with Nandigram however, goes even further back to the 1980s. The TMC supremo had first etched her name in politics after defeating late Somnath Chatterjee from Congress’ ticket in Nandigram in the Lok Sabha elections. However, in the subsequent years to the land acquisition movement, which drove the Tata Nano factory out of the state, she eventually chose Bhowanipore as her fort and left Nandigram to the Adhikaris, only to meet him in the battleground in 2021. The gamble of contesting from only Nandigram however, turned out to play well for the CM who managed to retain the prestigious seat. 

West Bengal election result 2021

While exit polls predicted a neck-to-neck fight between TMC and BJP in the 294-seat West Bengal state assembly, current EC trends have given an edge to Mamata Banerjee. As per the latest EC trends, the TMC has taken a considerable lead over the BJP and is projected to be leading in 201 assembly constituencies as compared to the 78 that the BJP is leading on.

Counting in West Bengal is taking place under a three-tier security arrangement across 108 counting centres where at least 292 observers have been appointed and 256 companies of central forces have been deployed. West Bengal went to polls in 8 phases from March 27- April 29. 

Advertisement

Published May 2nd, 2021 at 16:44 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Rape Case
a few seconds ago
BREAKING: Mukhtar Ansari Suffers Heart Attack, Admitted to Hospital in Serious Condition
4 minutes ago
Mukhtar Ansari Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in 1990 Arms Licence Case | Live
5 minutes ago
Mukhtar Ansari Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in 1990 Arms Licence Case | Live
7 minutes ago
Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar
8 minutes ago
ED Attack case: Shahjahan Sheikh Sent to Judicial Remand Till April 9
13 minutes ago
Manipur
13 minutes ago
Eknath Shinde
18 minutes ago
Inflation and growth
18 minutes ago
CUET
20 minutes ago
UP: Man Burned Alive By In-Laws in Mathura, Probe On
22 minutes ago
Diljit Dosanjh
26 minutes ago
mallikarjun kharge, lalu yadav
31 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo