The BJP is set to deliver a historic win in West Bengal, maintaining a strong lead in 198 seats and crossing the two-thirds majority mark of 148 in the state legislative assembly.
Reacting to the historic verdict, BJP's state president Samik Bhattacharya said the people of Bengal has rejected the Trinamool Congress government.
Bhattacharya also urged his party supporters to maintain peace and harmony in the state.
Mamata, in a video message earlier in the day, instructed polling agents of her party not to leave the counting centres.
"Please wait till the 14th round of the counting process. Don’t get tensed and panicked. We will fight like cub," she said at a time when the BJP was leading in more than 190 seats in the state.
Landslide victory
BJP's phenomenal leads in north and south Bengal districts showed that an anti-incumbency wave have swept across the region with the saffron party pushing ahead in border, tribal and industrial belts while the TMC holding ground in parts of Kolkata and some rural strongholds.
According to the ECI sources, the BJP has increased its vote percentage to 45 per cent this time from the 38 per cent it got in the 2021 elections.
Trinamool Congress suffered a decline in its vote bank with more than seven percentage. It got 41 per cent this time against 48 per cent it had in the last assembly polls in the state.
The Bhabanipur assembly seat, where Mamata took on BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, saw a tough contest in the morning, while the TMC supremo established a strong lead later.
In Nandigram, television channels showed Adhikari ahead by over 3,100 votes against TMC's Pabitra Kar after the first round, though the ECI was yet to upload official figures.
Aam Janata Unnayan Party chief Humayun Kabir was leading in the Nowda and Rejinagar seats in Murshidabad district.
The Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), an ally of the TMC in the Darjeeling hills, was leading in Kalimpong, underlining the regional dynamics in the hills where alliances often play a decisive role.
The CPM was leading in the Domkal seat in Murshidabad district.
Meanwhile, security arrangements have been tightened at the state secretariat Nabanna and other government offices with heavy deployments of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and state police personnel from Monday afternoon.
