Election Counting Begins: No Victory Rallies Allowed Amid Tensions

Election Counting Restrictions Announced

On Monday, Subrata Gupta, the special voter list observer, announced that no victory rallies would be permitted due to the commencement of vote counting for the assembly elections. Speaking to reporters, Gupta confirmed that all complaints had been addressed. He noted that some CCTV cameras experienced technical issues, causing brief outages of 5 to 10 minutes, which further justified the ban on rallies today.

Initial trends from the West Bengal assembly elections began to emerge around 9 AM, indicating a close contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC). According to these early results, both parties are currently leading in approximately 112 seats.

Early Trends and Allegations

The Election Commission has yet to release the initial trends officially. In Tamil Nadu, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has gained a slight edge over the AIADMK-led alliance, leading in around 55 seats, while the opposition coalition trails with about 25 seats.

In Assam, the NDA coalition led by the BJP has established a significant lead over the Congress-led alliance, with a commanding advantage in 69 seats, while the opposition is ahead in only 19 seats. Additionally, BJP candidate Arjun Singh from the Noapara constituency in West Bengal has raised allegations of irregularities at the counting center. He claimed that neither he nor his election agent was allowed entry when announcements were made regarding the opening of the strong room, suggesting a potential attempt at fraud. Singh stated that he would formally lodge a complaint with the election observer regarding this issue.

Security Measures in Place

As the counting process commenced, armored vehicles were deployed for patrolling in Malda, West Bengal. Meanwhile, several secure rooms were rapidly opened in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry ahead of the counting procedures.