In view of the surging Covid-19 cases, the Election Commission had issued a blanket ban on all victory rallies during and after the counting of votes in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry. The commission has made it compulsory for candidates and their agents to either be fully vaccinated or have tested negative for Covid-19 in the preceding 48 hours. Counting of votes in four states and a Union Territory began today from 8 am.

While addressing a press conference, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee conceded defeat in Nandigram constituency against her former aide Suvendu Adhikari. She said don’t worry for Nandigram, for struggle one has to sacrifice something. She struggled for Nandigram because she fought a movement. It’s ok. Let the Nandigram people give whatever verdict they want, she accepts that.

The Bengal CM urged her party workers to not take out any victory rally. She also said she will start working for COVID-19 immediately. The swearing-in will be a low-key event because of the prevailing COVID-19 situation.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi congratulates M.K. Stalin on his victory.

Rahul Gandhi congratulated DMK Chief M.K. Stalin for his victory in the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections. People of Tamil Nadu have voted for change and they will, he added.

Rajnath Singh also extended his wishes to DMK chief M.K. Stalin and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijyan on their party’s victory in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Rajnath Singh also congratulated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on her party’s victory in West Bengal assembly elections.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulates PM Modi, CM Sonowal, BJP Chief JP Nadda on Assam victory

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Pro-people policies of Narendra Modi led government and state government under Sarbananda Sonowal once again helped BJP in winning assembly elections in Assam. Congratulations to PM Modi, CM Sonowal, Adhyaksh JP Nadda and party workers on BJP’s impressive victory in Assam, he added.

BJP candidate from Nandigram, Suvendu Adhikari leads by 6 votes after the 16th round of counting.

DMK chief M.K. Stalin asks his party workers to avoid victory celebrations

DMK is leading in 119 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu, as per Election Commission trends.

Prashant Kishor says just because PM Modi is popular, doesn’t mean he will win all elections

Prashant Kishor, the political strategist of the Trinamool, said the party went through hell as the EC allowed the BJP to do whatever they wanted to do. The EC acted as an extension of the BJP. They have been blatantly partial. They did everything that they could have done on their part to help BJP win Bengal, Kishor told NDTV.

The TMC has been quite confident all along. All the BJP was doing throughout was run this massive propaganda that BJP is about to win, Kishor added.

Arvind Kejriwal congratulates Mamata for TMC’s Bengal win

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal tweeted congratulating Mamata Banerjee for what appears to be the Trinamool’s massive victory in West Bengal. Mamata, however, is trailing in her constituency of Nandigram.

Sharad Pawar congratulated Mamata Banerjee on ‘stupendous victory’

Let us continue our work towards the welfare of people and tackling the Pandemic collectively, he tweeted.

And, congratulations have started trickling for Mamata Banerjee!

After Election Commission asks respective chief secretaries to take action against victory processions and gathering, the DMK’s TKS Elangovan said the cadres are simply jubilant. The party leader’s advice to the cadres is that let them celebrate from their homes as Election Commission is taking serious note of any violation. DMK is a responsible political party, he added.

Bengaluru Commissioner of Police said in view of the election results, no victory gatherings or celebrations of any kind can be held as COVID protocol & prohibitory order u/s 144 CrPC is in force. Any such attempt by any individual/organization will have serious legal implications.

Election Commission of India writes to Chief Secretaries of all States/UTs to prohibit victory celebrations urgently. ECI also directs that responsible SHOs and other officers must be suspended immediately and criminal and disciplinary actions must be initiated against them.

After TMC supporters and supporters of various parties across the 4 states gather and celebrate as their party leads, the Election Commission of India told the news agency ANI that the Respective State Chief Secretaries have been asked to take immediate action to stop such gatherings. It is to be noted that the EC had banned victory processions on counting day in the wake of surging Covid-19 cases.

Derek tweets as BJP struggles to cross 100

Trinamool Congress’s Derek O’Brien has tweeted a video of BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah stating the BJP would win 200 seats in Bengal.

West Bengal: TMC crosses halfway mark

Official trends for 284 seats in West Bengal shows Trinamool Congress leading on 202 seats, BJP leading on 77.

Suvendu Adhikari continues to lead from Nandigram constituency

Suvendu Adhikari, the BJP candidate contesting against CM Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram continues to lead from the Assembly constituency.

DMK President M.K. Stalin leads from Kolathur Assembly constituency.

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal said as per the latest trends, it is clear that the BJP will form the government in the state.

DMK workers and and supporters celebrate outside Anna Arivalayam, the party headquarters in Chennai, as official trends show the party is leading.

Kerala: Left-led LDF crosses halfway mark

Of Kerala’s 140 member Assembly, the LDF is leading on 88 seats, Congress-led UDF alliance is leading in 48 seats, NDA on 3 seats.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijyan is leading from Dharmadam Assembly constituency.

Official trends for 12 seats in Puducherry shows that NR Congress is leading on 6 seats, while BJP is leading on 3.

BJP crosses halfway mark in Assam

BJP has crossed the halfway mark in Assam. Himanta Biswa Sarma and AGP chief and minister Atul Bora are leading from Majuli, Jalukbari and Bokakhat. Assam has a 126-member assembly and 64 seats are needed for a simple majority.

Tamil Nadu: DMK crosses halfway mark in early trends

DMK has crossed halfway mark with party alliance leading in 124 seats, AIADMK alliance is leading on 97 seats, while Kamal Haasan’s MNM is leading in Coimbatore South.

TMC leading in Bengal, BJP lags behind

The official trends for 172 seats in West Bengal shows that the Trinamool Congress is leading on 112 seats, while BJP lags behind with 58 seats.

TMC’s Aroop Biswas is leading against BJP’s Babul Supriyo in Tollyganj constituency in West Bengal.

TMC’s Madan Mitra leading from Kamarhati constituency.

TMC’s Firad Hakim leads from Kolkata Port

Metroman E. Sreedharan leading in Kerala’s Palakkad, while party stands nowhere

BJP candidate E. Sreedharan is leading from Palakkad constituency. The technocrat-turned politician is leading against sitting MLA Shafi Parambil from the UDF by more than 1,000 votes. 

TMC leading, Mamata Banerjee trailing

While TMC has gained major leads in Bengal, as the exit poll results had predicted, the party chief Mamata Banerjee is trailing on the seat she had contested. Banerjee is trailing in Nandigram by over 4,000 votes. Suvendu Adhikari, her former aide, is leading by 4,551 votes in Nandigram.

DMK candidate, from Chepauk constituency Udhayanidhi Stalin arrives at Queen Mary’s College in Chennai where counting of votes for #TamilNaduAssemblyPolls is underway.

In Bengal, TMC crosses 100 in postal ballot leads

Postal ballot leads have given the TMC 101 while the BJP is closely behind at 95. The Left is at 3. In Kerala, the LDF is leading in 80 while Congress is leading in 55. The BJP is at 2. 

India reports 3,92,488 new cases of Covid-19 and 3,698 deaths in last 24 hours.

Mamata Banerjee vs Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram

The most-watched fight in Bengal will be for Nandigram, where the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faces off against the BJP’s Suvendhu Adhikari, her ex-aide who joined BJP in December last year, triggering floods of exits.

Assam election results: BJP ahead in 12 seats, Congress leads in 9

The ruling BJP is ahead in 12 seats, while the Congress is leading in nine seats.

LDF leading in 30 seats in Kerala , Congress in 27- Early trends

Leads in 60 seats have emerged from Kerala. CM Pinarai Vijayan’s Left Democratic Front (LDF) is leading in 30 seats while opposition UDF is ahead in 27 seats. Interestingly, the BJP, which is a marginal player, is ahead in three seats.

West Bengal: BJP leading in 23 seats, Trinamool in 18

Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is lagging behind the BJP. Early trends show the BJP is leading in 23 seats while the ruling Trinamool Congress is leading in 18.

Counting of votes underway for #WestBengalPolls is underway. Visuals from a counting centre in Haldia of East Midnapore where votes in Haldia, Mahishadal and Nandigram are being counted.

Counting underway in Kerala’s Idukki

Tamil Nadu postal ballot leads

Postal ballot leads in Tamil Nadu shows that the DMK alliance is leading in five seats, while the ADMK alliance is leading in 1.

Postal Ballot leads in Assam, Kerala out

In Assam, the BJP is leading in 2 while the Congress is leading in 1 seat. In Kerala, the LDF and the UDF are leading in two each.

First postal leads out in Bengal

Both – the Trinamool and the BJP – have secured a lead each in West Bengal in postal ballots. Postal Ballot votes are not significant in terms of determining the result.  

Counting of votes also being done for by-election to Parliamentary constituencies in Andhra Pradesh (Tirupati), Karnataka (Belgaum), Kerala (Malappuram) and Tamil Nadu (Kanyakumari). Votes also being counted for by-election to Vidhan Sabha in 10 states.

Counting of votes for #AssemblyElections2021 begins.

Votes are being counted across Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The election results this time will take longer because of the Covid-19 crisis. 

The majority mark in Kerala’s 140-member Assembly is 72. India Today Exit Poll predicted that LDF is expected to win 104-120 out of 140 seats, UDF is likely to get 20-36, and NDA is only expected to get only 0-2 seats. Pinarayi Vijayan is tipped to beat the cyclical LDF-UDF turnstile this time with his government’s reasonable performance during Covid times

Tamil Nadu exit poll predictions suggested that AIADMK alliance is likely to get 58-68 seats, DMK alliance likely to swipe elections with 160-170 constituencies, while ANMK is expected to get 4-6 seats. This is the first election in the 70 years without DMK stalwart Karunanidhi and first such without AIADMK’s Jayalalithaa for some 40 years.

Congress not to participate in TV debates today

Citing Covid crisis, the Congress has said it will not participate in television debates Sunday on the Assembly election results in West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

At a time when the nation is facing an unprecedented crisis, when Government under Prime Minister Modi has collapsed, the Congress find it unacceptable to not hold them accountable and instead discuss election wins and losses. The party have decided to withdraw its spokespersons from election debates, Congress communication department head Randeep Surjewala said.

Counting of votes for #AssamAssemblyPolls to be held at two locations in Dibrugarh, at Dibrugarh Govt Boys Higher Secondary School and Deputy Commissioner Office, Dibrugarh.

Visuals of security arrangement outside the counting centre in Tamil Nadu, Kerala. Puducherry, and Assam.

As many as 1,382 personnel has been deployed for counting of votes in the whole of the UT while about 400 police personnel shall be on security duties.

In view of the surging Covid-19 cases, the Election Commission had issued a blanket ban on all victory rallies during and after the counting of votes in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry. The commission has made it compulsory for candidates and their agents to either be fully vaccinated or have tested negative for Covid-19 in the preceding 48 hours. 

Counting of votes in four states and a Union Territory began today from 8 am.

The Arvind Kejriwal government has decided to extend curfew in Delhi for another week. The Delhi government had extended the week-long curfew till May 3 earlier, now it will be in force till May 10.

The news that a prominent news channel will not be covering the counting of votes for elections held to the legislative assemblies of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry scheduled on Sunday May 2, has lifted the spirits of the Opposition parties in the country. But India and its people are protecting themselves from the violent Covid-19 surge and are testy at the possibility of another long lockdown.

West Bengal, which went to the polls in 8 phases which began on March 27 and ended a month later on April 29, has 294 Assembly seats, Tamil Nadu 234, Kerala 140, Assam 126 and Puducherry 30.

As Bengal’s elections went through its phases, the Covid-19 spread also widened in the country. The data on Bengal about the extent of Covid spread is not out yet. But the campaign saw political leaders across party lines speaking to crowds without wearing masks or speaking about the need to even wear the mask as a prophylactic measure. Western media has been scathing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and others for not heeding the Covid call.

Who will win West Bengal?

Bengal will be the cynosure of all attention where a straight contest is expected between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the challenge posed by the BJP. The CPI (M)-Congress-ISF alliance is also expected to give a tough fight to the BJP and the TMC on some seats.

Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is also contesting in Bengal this time and can end up hurting the Trinamool voteshare. But the campaign will be noted for a couple of slogans like Khela Hobe and the more notorious Didi-O-Didi, which could have hurt the BJP much more than it could have imagined. The Delhi media has been building up a narrative that the BJP will either win or come a close second. Sunday will have all the answers.

Can AIADMK win re-election without Jayalalithaa?

In Tamil Nadu, the ruling AIADMK has allied with the Pattali Makkal Katchi and the BJP, the DMK has aligned with the Congress and CPI(M). The newly formed Makkal Needhi Maiam of Kamal Haasan contested the polls in alliance with other smaller regional parties. Former AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran, who floated his own party AMMK has contested polls in alliance with the AIMIM, which is also contesting for the first time in Tamil Nadu.

Much pilloried, the E. Palaniswami government has not been a lameduck either. It has risen to the coronavirus challenge admirably, and this late flourish of the Chief Minister is leading a large number of Tamil news publications and TV to pitch the AIADMK on a stronger wicket.

Can Pinarayi Vijayan win it again for LDF?

The Kerala Assembly elections were held on April 6, 2021 in a single phase for 140 seats. In Kerala, it is a three-cornered fight between the incumbent CPM-led LDF, the Congress-led UDF, and the BJP.

Like in Bengal, the BJP bluster could have pushed more undecided voters towards the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front. The choice of Metroman E. Sreedharan as its CM aspirant could have worked elsewhere but in Kerala, it can end up as the torpedo for the party’s chances. A local BJP leadership could have helped, even if local leaders were assuring Keralites on the quality of beef after their expected victory, but Sreedharan erudite as he maybe in rail engineering, couldn’t catch the pulse of the people nor avoid the pitfalls of raising North India-centric dogwhistles like love jihad, angering the voters’ in Kerala even more.

Smooth sailing for BJP in Assam?

Assam voted in three phases on March 27, April 1 and April 7. In the 2016 Assembly elections, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 86 of the state’s 126 seats. The ruling party is contesting 92 seats in alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad, which is contesting 26 seats. The United People’s Party Liberal is contesting 8 seats.

In the opposition grand alliance, the Congress is contesting 94 seats, whereas Badruddin Ajmal’s AIUDF is contesting 14.

Will BJP bag Puducherry?

While the Union Territory of Puducherry is witnessing a direct contest between the UPA and NDA. The NDA – comprising the AINRC contesting 16 seats of the total 30 constituencies, BJP on 9 and the AIADMK on 5 – is taking on the UPA alliance of the Congress and the DMK whcih are contesting 14 and 13 seats respectively. The Congress is also supporting an independent in Yanam. Other UPA constituents, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the CPI are contesting on one seat each.

Read Also: Mamata Banerjee set to retain Bengal, Arvind Kejriwal, Sharad Pawar congratulate her, party leaders request people to celebrate at home

Mamata Banerjee set to retain Bengal, Arvind Kejriwal, Sharad Pawar congratulate her, party leaders request people to celebrate at home

The V. Narayanasamy-led government in Puducherry, a Union Territo

The V. Narayanasamy-led government in Puducherry, a Union Territory, lost majority on February 22 after seven MLAs quit one after the other and Narayanasamy stepped down from the CM’s post. He has not contested the 2021 election.

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