A large number of security officers were deployed for the counting of votes in India’s West Bengal state – Copyright AFP –
Sailendra SIL
Counting of votes in India’s key state election was underway on Monday under tight security, with a focus on West Bengal, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party looked set for victory.
And in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, veteran politician MK Stalin was trailing, challenged by a political debutant – film star C. Joseph Vijay.
Elections in five states and territories took place in April and May, with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party in the national parliament, seeking to make inroads into opposition-held states.
In West Bengal, the Hindu-nationalist BJP mounted an aggressive bid to oust Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the fiery leader of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), in power in the state of 100 million since 2011.
Trends released by the Election Commission of India on Monday showed the BJP leading in 176 of the 294 seats in West Bengal.
“The whole country has its eyes on the results of this state election,” political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty told AFP in the capital Kolkata. “Competition can tip the balance of power.”
The campaign this time was marked by protests over the removal of millions of names from voter rolls, which critics said was biased against marginalized communities and minorities.
Banerjee, speaking ahead of the counting, insisted her party would win.
“The BJP is not coming, take my word for it,” she said. “Be patient to the end.”
But West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya told AFP he was confident of a victory.
“It was an election of rejection,” he said. “The people of the state want change. The ruling Trinamool Congress will be defeated.”
Past elections have resulted in violence in the state, where the BJP has never been in power.
– “Political earthquake” –
In Tamil Nadu, a major industrial hub of more than 80 million people, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) under Chief Minister MK Stalin was trailing, according to early trends by the Election Commission.
Stalin is being challenged by C. Joseph Vijay, 51, one of India’s most promising actors, especially in the Tamil regions.
The political debutant launched his own party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in 2024.
Election Commission trends showed Vijay’s TVK leading, a surprise result in the state where exit polls suggested Stalin’s DMK would return to power.
Votes are also being counted in Assam, a northeastern state of more than 31 million people that the BJP is widely expected to retain control of, and in the small coastal territory of Puducherry, where the BJP is part of a ruling coalition.
In Kerala, the hotly contested southern state of about 36 million people, trends suggest the Congress party-led alliance will oust the Communist party.
Wins in the state elections would put Modi on a firmer footing as he battles a series of economic and foreign policy challenges, including high unemployment and a pending US trade deal.
Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said a victory for the BJP in West Bengal and the TVK in Tamil Nadu would be nothing short of a “political earthquake”.
“The aftershocks of these results will be felt for a long time,” he said on social media, “perhaps until the 2029 general election.
