Suvendu Adhikari defeats Mamata on her home turf, wins by 15,000+ votes

After a neck-and-neck battle in south Kolkata's Bhabanipur assembly constituency, BJP leader and the Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, has defeated Chief Minister and sitting MLA Mamata Banerjee with a margin of 15,000 plus votes, repeating his performance from Nandigram in the 2021 assembly elections.

Tension gripped the constituency from the very beginning on the counting day as it witnessed a sharp electoral swing between the two heavyweights. Adhikari secured an early lead in the initial rounds; however, Mamata Banerjee quickly made a comeback, narrowing the gap, and eventually moved ahead in the seventh round.

At one point, Banerjee even secured a 20,000 lead in her constituency, making the battle look easy. However, Adhikari made a stellar comeback and not only won the seat but also secured a handsome margin.

SUVENDU'S COMEBACK IN THE HIGHLY CONTESTED RACE

The tables turned after the 11th round as Banerjee's lead started shrinking in her bastion.

In every subsequent round, Adhikari narrowed down the gap with Banerjee. The margin between the two came down to just 2,929 votes after the completion of the 15th round.

In the next counting session, Adhikari managed a slender lead of just 563 votes against Banerjee. However, it was enough to damage Trinamool's dominance in Bhabanipur – a seat that the party has held since the year 2011.

In the next four rounds, Adhikari increased the lead to over 15,000 and put the final nail in Banerjee and Trinamool Congress's coffin.

A VICTORY OF HINDUTVA: SUVENDU ASSERTS HINDU, BUDDHIST, SIKH UNITY

Following his victory in Bhabanipur, Adhikari asserted that not only Hindus, but also the votes of the Buddhists and Sikhs, were consolidated in favour of him.

"Muslims voted for her openly. In Ward No 77, all the Muslims who came out to vote for Mamata, and Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists blessed me and made me win. This victory is a victory for Hindutva," said Adhikari.

He further mentioned that the loss in Bhabanipur would lead to Mamata Banerjee's retirement from active politics.

POLITICAL FLASHPOINT ERUPTED BETWEEN TMC, BJP

Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party clashed with each other over the counting in the Bhabanipur seat.

It all started after the 12th round of counting. Banerjee was leading by a margin of more than 7,000 votes against Adhikari when a long, mysterious pause was noticed in the counting announcement. It immediately triggered panic in the TMC camp, with Banerjee rushing to Sakhawat Memorial High School (the counting centre) at around 3.30 pm, alleging that the BJP was looting votes polled in favour of the Trinamool Congress.

Her arrival, accompanied by her sister-in-law and local councillor Kajari Banerjee, sparked a major outrage among a section of BJP supporters, who protested and gheraoed the two. Meanwhile, Suvendu Adhikari was also present at the counting centre when Mamata Banerjee arrived.

The counting resumed after the pause; however, it was again stalled after round 13. This time, Adhikari alleged that the counting was stopped because Banerjee entered the counting centre with her phone.

The supporters of both parties also had a clash between themselves amid the uncertainties in the counting.