Entire Bengal praying for Didi, we have full faith: Trinamool’s Kunal Ghosh

Kolkata, May 4 (SocialNews.XYZ) Kunal Ghosh, Trinamool Congress candidate from the Beleghata Assembly constituency, on Monday said that he has "full faith" in the people of Bengal, claiming that the public is praying for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's win and showering their blessings on the party.

In the Beleghata Assembly constituency, Gosh is currently leading with over 3,500 votes. He holds a margin of over 400 over the BJP candidate Partha Chaudhury, the Election Commission of India (ECI) trends showed as of 10:30 a.m.

When asked about the early trends, Ghosh told IANS, "We are not even looking at the early trends because we have confidence in the people of Beleghata, citizens of Bengal, workers and colleagues. In entire Bengal, people are praying for Mamata Didi and showering their blessings; we have faith in them."

Ghosh further slammed the ECI over alleged "harassment" of the Trinamool Congress leaders and workers, stating that he does not trust the poll body.

"I don't have trust in the Election Commission of India. Yesterday till late at night, they had harassed us. Sometimes, the CCTV are being closed, sometimes they are saying mobiles won't be allowed and not even pens. So, what will the counting agent do? How will he note down the votes? They are creating such problems to divert us, but we are Mamata Banerjee's soldiers, and we won't be defeated," the Trinamool leader said.

The counting of votes cast in the two-phase Assembly polls in West Bengal began at 8 a.m. on Monday, with postal ballots counted first.

On Monday, the counting is on for only 293 of 294 Assembly constituencies in the state, since the ECI, on Saturday, announced repolling for the entire Falta Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district on May 21, the results for which will be declared on May 24.

This time, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has brought about some changes in the counting pattern. In previous elections, counting of votes started only after the counting of postal ballots was completed fully.

However, this time, counting of only postal ballots will be done for the first 30 minutes, that is, from 8 a.m. to 8.30 a.m. From 8.30 a.m. onwards, the postal ballots and the EVM votes will be counted simultaneously.

"The counting of the postal ballots only for the first 30 minutes is to ensure that the counting of the postal ballots is completed before the completion of the counting of EVM votes. In case, in any counting room, if the counting of postal ballots is not completed before the last two rounds of counting, the counting of EVM votes will be kept on hold for some time, and only postal ballots will be counted during that period. The EVM vote counting will resume after the counting of postal ballots is completed," said an insider from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).

He also said that by following this new process, a clear trend in the results will be available by noon.

The contest in West Bengal is mainly between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the principal opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the last elections in 2021, Trinamool Congress ended tally with 216 seats, followed by the BJP at 77 and All India Secular Front (AISF) at one.

Neither Congress nor the CPI(M)-led Left Front, despite contesting the polls in an alliance, could win from a single constituency. This time, the main challenge for both Congress and Left Front is to open their accounts again in terms of presence in the state Assembly. This time, Left Front and Congress have contested independently, although Left Front had a seat-sharing arrangement with AISF.

The two-phase Assembly polls in West Bengal this time were conducted on April 23 and April 29, with a record turnout of nearly 93 per cent. Most of the exit poll predictions this time, barring two, have predicted the end of the 15-year Trinamool Congress regime and the beginning of the BJP rule in West Bengal.

Source: IANS