New Delhi: The counting of votes polled in the four states of West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu as well as the Union Territory (UT) of Puducherry started amid tight security and strict Covid-safety protocols on Sunday morning as political parties await the results anxiously.
The counting of postal ballots began at 8 am.
During the day, the outcomes in the four states and one UT will become clearer, but the official announcements on some individual seats may continue into the night.
Counting of votes has also begun for the bye-election to the parliamentary constituencies in Andhra Pradesh (Tirupati), Karnataka (Belagavi), Kerala (Malappuram) and Tamil Nadu (Kanyakumari). Votes are also being counted for the by-election to Vidhan Sabha in 10 states.
No candidates or their agents will be allowed inside the counting halls without a negative coronavirus report, the Election Commission has said. Victory processions have also been banned by the poll body in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis across the country.
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The Election Commission of India has banned any victory procession amid the COVID 19 situation in the country. It has also has directed chief secretaries of all 5 states to file FIR in each such case, suspend concerned SHO, and report the action taken immediately of each such incidence.
Live updates:
West Bengal:
The TMC supremo has won a closely fought battle against her former protege-turned-BJP rival Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram
Police personnel instructs TMC supporters to stop celebrations in Asansol.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal congratulated Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, as her party looked set to retain power in West Bengal, according to the latest trends for the assembly polls.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav congratulates Mamta Banerjee and Trinamool Congress for the early lead in West Bengal assembly elections results.
Trinamool Congress supporters celebrate in Kolkata as party leads on 202 seats, BJP leading in 77.
Candidates of the ruling TMC are leading in 202 of the state’s 292 seats that went to poll against BJP’s 78, as trends were available for 285 constituencies.
Tamil Nadu:
After a ten year stint in the opposition, DMK in Tamil Nadu on Sunday was set for a comeback to the ruling saddle.
DMK workers and supporters celebrate outside Anna Arivalayam, the party headquarters in Chennai, as official trends show the party leading
While no visible sweep was seen in favour of the Stalin-led DMK, it was ahead in 119 segments, one more than the minimum for a simple majority in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly and its allies in 19, giving the front a comfortable leeway.
The AIADMK is ahead in 81 seats and together with its partners, in 93 constituencies, according to trends made available by the Election Commission for 232 segments till 2 pm.
A key pointer in the trends available so far is that the AIADMK continued as a force to be reckoned with, despite the burden of a 10-year anti-incumbency.
The party was doing well in its traditional stronghold of western region, comprising districts like Coimbatore, Salem, and Tirupur, besides in parts of North, while DMK was surging ahead in many parts, including the Cauvery delta region, even as it was leading in most of the 16 seats in Chennai, often described as its stronghold.
DMK allies– the Congress was leading in 12 segments, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi in three, and the two Left parties together in four seats.
AIADMK’s allies the PMK and BJP are ahead in seven and four segments resepectively. This included state BJP chief L Murugan from Dharapuram.
Kerala:
UDF’s Ashraf wins Manjeshwaran Assembly constituency with a margin of over 1100 votes.
The ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front is all set to retain power as it is leading in at least 94 of the 140 assembly seats as counting is still in progress.
With Vijayan managing to steer the Left bloc for a successive term, LDF will be bucking the over four decade-old trend of swinging between the Communists and the Congress- headed UDF in the southern state.
As per the Election Commission (EC) figures, the ruling front is ahead in 85 seats, UDF in 44 and the BJP-led NDA in three constituencies.
Senior Congress leaders, including Ramesh Chennithala, Chandy, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan and P T Thomas established leads, but many front candidates are facing an uphill task.
The BJP continued to maintain its lead in Palakkad, where it has fielded ‘Metroman’ E Sreedharan.
The 88-year-old technocrat is ahead of his nearest rival and two-time sitting MLA, Shafi Parambil by over 4,000 votes.
Senior BJP leader and former Mizoram Governor, Kummanam Rajasekharan and actor-turned-Rajya Sabha MP, Suresh Gopi are also leading in Nemom and Thrissur constituencies respectively.
Assam:
As per the trends, it is clear that BJP will form the government in Assam, says CM Sarbananda Sonowal.
The ruling BJP-led NDA is leading in 22 seats, while the Grand Alliance spearheaded by the Congress is ahead in 15 places, according to initial trends available from counting of postal ballots in Assam, officials said on Sunday.
The newly formed Assam Jatiya Parishad-Raijor Dal alliance is leading in four assembly seats.
BJP candidates are leading in 16 seats, while those of its ally AGP in six.
The Congress has established initial leads in 14 places and AIUDF in one.
Raijor Dal chief and jailed anti-CAA protest leader Akhil Gogoi is leading from Sibsagar.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and AGP chief and minister Atul Bora are leading from Majuli, Jalukbari, and Bokakhat.
Congress Legislative Party chief and his deputy Debabrata Saikia and Rakibul Hussain both are trailing from Nazira and Samaguri.
Assam has a 126-member assembly and 64 seats are needed for a simple majority.
Puducherry:
AINRC founder and former Chief Minister N Rangasamy was trailing behind Congress-backed Independent candidate in Yanam, an enclave of Puducherry in Andhra Pradesh, in a surprise development.
Rangasamy, leading the NDA, is also seeking election from Thattanchavady constituency, his pocket borough in Puducherry. The counting of votes polled in Thattanchavady would be taken up in course of the day.
The NDA was leading in eight seats in the UT, with AINRC in five and BJP 3, while the Congress led Secular Democratic alliance was ahead in two segments.
SDA constituents DMK and Congress were leading in one seat each.
There are 30 Assembly constituencies spread over Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam regions.
Polling was held in eight phases in West Bengal between March 27 and April 29, in Assam in three stages on March 27, April 1 and 6, while votes were cast in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and the Union Territory of Puducherry in a single phase on April 6, when the COVID surge had begun in many of the states.
