Bengal: TMC to hold its bastion, BJP to squeeze in as vote count begins

Counting of votes for 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal began at 8 am on Thursday, an election official said. Around 25,000 personnel have been deployed to count votes in 379 counting halls, which are being guarded by 82 companies of Central forces.

Elections in the state were held in seven-phases beginning April 11, with 466 candidates, including 54 women, in the fray. Besides imposing prohibitory order under section 144 within the 100-metre radius of the counting venues, there will be a three-tier security cordon.

Only authorised persons will be allowed to enter the counting venues. For each of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies, there will be a counting observer to monitor the entire process. Other than the returning officer, assistant returning officers and observers, no other people will be allowed to use mobile phones inside the counting venues.

A videographer will document the counting process in each counting centre. All the counting centres have been kept under the strict vigilance of CCTV. The Election Commission (EC) will declare trends at the end of each round of counting.