Over 20 TMC ministers trail as BJP looks at historic win in West Bengal

Kolkata: In a major setback for the Trinamool Congress, more than 20 of its ministers were trailing on Monday as the counting of votes for the West Bengal assembly elections indicated a strong BJP surge.

Sources in the TMC said at least 23 ministers were trailing across constituencies, signalling a widespread challenge for the party leadership.

Among the prominent leaders, outgoing Education Minister Bratya Basu was trailing by 10,521 votes, Manas Ranjan Bhunia by around 4,450 votes, Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja by nearly 5,000 votes, and Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya by 3,878 votes.


In Singur, BJP candidate Arup Kumar Das was leading by 4,924 votes over the TMC's Becharam Manna, dealing a blow to the ruling party in a politically significant constituency.

Minister Snehasis Chakraborty was trailing by around 6,500 votes, while several other ministers, including Sujit Bose, Pulak Roy, Sabina Yasmin, Srikanta Mahato and Birbaha Hansda, were also behind their nearest rivals in the early rounds.

The trend assumes significance as the Mamata Banerjee-led government had relied heavily on its welfare outreach and strong local leadership network, with many of these leaders being key faces of governance at the grassroots level.

Party leaders, however, cautioned that the trends were based on early rounds of counting and could change as more votes are tallied through the day.

Officials of the Election Commission also maintained that clearer trends would emerge only after multiple rounds of counting are completed.