Nearly three-fold increase in BJP’s vote share tough challenge for TMC, Congress in Bengal's eighth phase

All eyes will be on Trinamool Congress Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal as he is under the strict surveillance of the EC

Voting began at 7 am in 35 constituencies in the eighth and last phase of the West Bengal election on Thursday.

The nearly three-fold increase in the BJP’s vote share in the 35 seats that go to polls in final phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections will be the key challenge for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Left Front-Congress-Indian Secular Front (ISF) alliance. Although the BJP won only one out of the 35 seats in the 2016 Assembly elections, its vote share shot up from 11.48 per cent to 30.77 per cent in the last Lok Sabha elections.

Out of the 35 seats in four districts, the TMC won 17, the Congress won 13, the Left Front won three and an Independent candidate supported by the Left-Congress alliance won one seat in the 2016 Assembly elections. However, in the last Lok Sabha elections, the BJP surged ahead in 11 seats nipping in the TMC’s heels which led in 19 seats. The Congress led in five seats.

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There was no alliance between the Left Front and Congress in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Left Front got 5.15 per cent votes and the Congress got 19.45 per cent votes in the last Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress won four out of the six poll bound seats in its bastion of Malda district in the 2016 Assembly elections. One seat was won by an Independent candidate supported by the Left Congress alliance. The BJP won one seat and the TMC drew a blank. The BJP led in four and the Congress led in two seats in the last Lok Sabha elections.

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It remains to be seen whether the Congress and Left Front can repeat their success of 2016 Assembly elections in Malda and Murshidabad.

As for the Birbhum district, known to be a TMC bastion, the ruling party in the State won nine out of the 11 seats, the Congress and the CPI(M) won one seat each in the last Assembly elections. But in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP led in five seats while the TMC led in six.

The TMC swept all the seven poll-bound seats in Kolkata in the last Assembly elections. But the BJP managed to get a lead in two seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, while the TMC led in five.

Key figures:

Total seats: 35
Total candidates: 283
Total voters: 84,93,255
Male voters: 43,70,693
Female voters: 41,22,403
Poling stations: 11,860