With the conclusion of voting for the general elections in the world's largest democracy, exit polls from survey agencies and news organisations have started to come in. According to the ABP-CVoter Exit Poll, in West Bengal, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in a direct contest with the ruling party TMC, surveys predict that the BJP-led NDA may secure 23 to 27 seats while 13 to 17 are projected to go to the TMC, and Congress+CPIM may get 1 to 3 seats.
Polling phase
West Bengal has a total of 42 Lok Sabha seats, and voting for these took place across all seven phases of the general elections. In the first and second phases, voting was conducted for three seats each, while in the third phase, voting took place for four seats. In the fourth and sixth phases, voting was held for eight seats each, while in the fifth phase, seven seats were contested. In the seventh phase, voting for nine seats was conducted on June 1.
2019 results
Looking at the 2019 election, the BJP won 18 seats, TMC secured 22 seats, and Congress bagged two seats.
In terms of vote share, Trinamool Congress secured 43.7% of the total votes, while the BJP received 40.6%. The Left Front garnered 7.5% of the votes, and Congress obtained 5.7%.
The 2014 results were as follows: the BJP won 2 seats, TMC secured 34 seats, Congress got 4 seats, and the Left Front managed to win 2 seats.
Election issues in West Bengal
This time, the BJP focused on corruption issues in the Mamata Banerjee government and also raised the issue of Sandeshkhali. The BJP fielded candidates for all 42 seats in the state, while the Trinamool Congress also contested all the seats with its candidates. Meanwhile, TMC has strongly accused BJP of worsening the communal atmosphere in the state for political gain.
Prominent candidates
On the BJP side, former High Court Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay is contesting from the Tamluk seat, Dilip Ghosh is contesting from the Bardhaman-Durgapur seat, and Union Minister Nisith Pramanik is contesting from the Cooch Behar seat. These are among the prominent candidates in the state.
The final results for 541 Lok Sabha seats will be announced on June 4. The BJP has already secured unopposed victories in Gujarat's Surat Lok Sabha seat and Madhya Pradesh's Indore Lok Sabha seat.
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