From 77 to 206: BJP’s massive surge in West Bengal

Bharatiya Janata Party swept West Bengal with 206 seats in the Assembly polls, surpassing its 200-seat target, while All India Trinamool Congress secured 80, marking a dramatic shift from previous election outcomes

Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in 206 out of 292 seats in the just-held West Bengal assembly election, achieving its target of crossing the 200-seat mark for the polls held five years ago.

While the state assembly has a strength of 294 members, votes were counted for 293 as the Election Commission countermanded the polling in one seat following electoral malpractices. Counting in one seat, Rajarhat Newtown in North 24 Parganas district, has been completed, but its result is yet to be declared.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah, considered the main poll strategist of the BJP, had set a target of 200-plus seats for the party’s West Bengal wing ahead of the Assembly elections in 2021. The party, however, won 77 constituencies.

This time, the BJP won 206 seats (out of 292), while the TMC bagged 80, as per the ECI data. The Congress and the AJUP of Humayun Kabir won two seats each. The CPI(M) and the AISF managed to win one constituency each, it said.