TMC set for landslide victory; Bengal saved India today, says Mamata

KOLKATA: Belying all expectations, the TMC was headed on Sunday for a landslide victory in assembly elections, overcoming the might of the BJP after a bitter campaign that had turned into a virtual duel between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

By evening the trends were clear. Banerjee's Trinamool Congress had won or was leading in 208 out of 292 constituencies which went to the polls with some 48 per cent of the votes counted so far. Polling was countermanded in two constituencies after candidates fell victim to a raging pandemic.

"It is the victory of the people of Bengal, the victory of democracy. Bengal has saved India today. This landslide victory came after fighting against several odds -- the Centre, its machinery, its agencies. This victory has saved the humanity," Banerjee said, addressing the press as she stood on her feet for the first time in nearly two months." However, her own victory from Nandigram seemed in doubt with conflicting reports of her loss by a narrow margin and a recount, neither of which were confirmed by the Election Commission. "Let the people of Nandigram decide ... I will accept whatever verdict they give. But our (TMC) victory is a landslide one across the state where everyone - women, youth, minorities voted for us," she added.

Banerjee, set to be Chief Minister for a third term, however, stopped celebrations by her party workers and indicated that her first priority after the victory would be combating the pandemic. Reiterating her pre-poll promise, Banerjee said her government will provide free vaccines to the people of the state. The TMC's main rival, the BJP was stymied in its ambition of winning the State with a total tally of wins and leads in just 82 constituencies with 38 per cent of the votes counted so far. It is far less than the 120 assembly segments where it wrested a majority when it won 18 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Banerjee on her party's win in the assembly polls, tweeting, "Congratulations to Mamata Didi for @AITCofficial's win in West Bengal. The Centre will continue to extend all possible support to the West Bengal Government to fulfil people's aspirations and also to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic," he tweeted.