Landslide Victory For TMC In West Bengal; BJP Retains Assam; Left Keeps Kerala, DMK To Rule Tamil Nadu

Election results for four states- Kerala, Assam, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu- and a union territory, Puducherry, will be declared today. The campaigning and voting were held while India battles a devastating second wave of Covid-19. Exit polls predict a close call in West Bengal, where chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress faces off against the BJP, which is expected to retain neighbouring Assam. Down south, Tamil Nadu is expected to throw a surprise with the DMK’s victory, while Congress is likely to lose Puducherry to the BJP. As for Kerala, the exit polls predict a win for the LDF. But these polls have often turned out to be totally off the mark.

There will be 2,364 counting halls as compared to 1,002 halls in 2016 in 822 assembly constituencies due to the coronavirus guidelines, says the Election Commission which drew flak from the courts over the conduct of polls during the pandemic. Apart from at least 15 rounds of sanitisation at each centre, social distancing and other precautions, including a ban on gatherings, will be strictly followed during the counting by 95,000 officials.

Here’s how events unfolded throughout the day--

22.00 pm: TMC crosses the majority mark in the West Bengal Assembly.

21.50 pm: The 'none of the above' or 'NOTA' option had very few takers in the five Assembly polls. According to data available on the Election Commission website, a total of 1,54,399 or (1.22 er cent) of the total voters exercised the option in Assam.

21.40 pm: West Bengal: BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari thanked the people of Nandigram for choosing him as their representative. “My sincere thanks to the great People of Nandigram for their love, trust, blessings, and support, and for choosing me as their representative and the MLA from #Nandigram. It is my never-ending commitment to be of service to them and working for their welfare. I am truly grateful,” he tweeted.

21. 30 pm: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati congratulated TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee for her party’s victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections. In a tweet in Hindi, Mayawati said, "Heartiest congratulations and good wishes to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for good performance of TMC in the West Bengal Assembly elections. Also heartiest congratulations and good wishes to Shri Stalin of Tamil Nadu, to Shri Vijyan of Kerala and to Shri Sonwal of Assam."

21.20 pm: West Bengal: Following Mamata Banerjee’s defeat, Trinamool Congress urges Election Commission for an "immediate re-counting of votes in Nandigram AC 210 and postal ballots."

21.10 pm: Assam: Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal of BJP wins from Majuli defeating Rajib Lochan Pegu of Congress, says EC. 

21.00 pm: West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee defeated in Nandigram constituency following high drama amid her party's spectacular return to power. 

20.46 pm: West Bengal: Three-member Trinamool Congress delegation is meeting Chief Electoral Officer at EC Office in Kolkata seeking a recount of votes in Nandigram and other issues

20.33 pm: Kerala: Indian Union Muslim League candidate Abdussamad Samadani wins Malappuram parliamentary by election, as per Election Commission of India

20.14 pm: Assam:  AGP nominee and Assam minister Atul Bora defeated his nearest Independent rival Pranab Doley by 45,181 votes in the Bokakhat seat.

20.02 pm: Assam: BJP candidate and Assam minister Ranjit Dutta defeated his nearest Independent rival Jayanta Dutta by 29,839 votes to retain Behali seat.

19.53 pm: Assam: NDA ahead in 77 seats, trends indicate victory

19.25 pm: Kerala: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan wins from Dharmadam Assembly constituency, as per Election Commission of India

19.15 pm: Assam: BJP's Himanta Biswa Sarma wins by over 1 lakh votes

18.58 pm: West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee acknowledged the defeat in Nandigram, while addressing the media in the evening. But, soon after her press conference, the party said from its official Twitter handle, "The counting process for Nandigram has not been completed. Please do not speculate." 

18.44  pm West Bengal:  Bengal has saved India today: Mamata Banerjee after landslide victory.

18.20 pm: West Bengal: Don't worry about Nandigram, I struggled for Nandigram because I fought a movement. It's ok. Let the Nandigram people give whatever verdict they want, I accept that. I don't mind. We won more than 221 seats & BJP has lost the election: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

18.10 pm: West Bengal: Mamata loses in Nandigram, says doesn't matter after winning in 221 seats

17.58 pm: Kerala: I humbly dedicate this great victory to the people of Kerala: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan

17.20 pm: West Bengal: This is a victory for Bengal, for the people of Bengal: Mamata to party supporters after trends indicate TMC heading for a huge win.

17.16 pm: Assam: Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wins Jalukbari constituency for the 5th consecutive term by a margin of 1,01,911 votes.

17.14 pm: Kerala: Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja wins Mattannur constituency.

17.11 pm: West Bengal: Union minister babul Supriyo loses by over 50,000 votes from Tollygunje seat. (Outlook)

16.56 pm: Assam: Counting is still underway but it is clear that BJP is forming the government once again. This has been possible because of the public cooperation: Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal 

16.09 pm: Kerala: K K Ramachandran (CPI-M) wins by a margin of 27,353 votes over Sunil Anthikkad (UDF) from Puthukkad assembly constituency, according to Election Commission.

5.58 pm:  BJP's E. Sreedharan lost in Palakkad.

15:47pm: Never seen a more partial Election Commission, it did everything to help BJP: Prashant Kishor to India Today TV

15:35pm: West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee's lead increased to over 8,000 votes in Nandigram after 15th round. Among BJP heavyweights, Union minister Babul Supriyo was trailing by over 35,000 votes and Hooghly MP Locket Chatterjee was trailing from Chinsurah.  (Outlook)

15:18pm: BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya credited Mamata Banerjee for the TMC's astounding performance in Bengal elections, and said his party would introspect the poll results. "The TMC won because of Mamata Banerjee. It seems people have chosen Didi. We will introspect what went wrong, whether it was organisational issues, lack of face, insider-outsider debate. We will see what went wrong," he said.

15:12pm:  As counting for the 140 Assembly seats entered the last leg, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to draw a blank in the state. Though the BJP- led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was leading in three seats in the initial rounds of counting, it couldn’t keep the momentum towards the last rounds. The party was leading in three seats—Nemom, Thrissur, and Palakkad.

Probably the candidature of E Sreedharan —who is known as metro man, was the most discussed throughout the campaign. The party has also projected Sreedharan as its chief minister candidate. His candidature was debated extensively in national media too. In the last round of counting, Sreedharan was trailing behind Congress candidate Shafi Parambil by more than 2000 votes. (Outlook)

15:08pm: “We really don’t want to celebrate but there was an anti-campaign against TMC. Our workers were under pressure. This mandate has given them energy. Still, we’re telling them not to celebrate due to Covid situation”, said Sayan Deb Chatterjee, State Secy, WB Trinamool Youth Congress.

15:02pm: Prashant Kishor: "I have said this before and I'm saying it again. In this victory,  I am quitting and I don't want to do this anymore. I have had enough. It's time for my colleagues in iPac to take over. They are very capable people there... I end up taking credit for a lot of their work."

14:56pm: Assam: "I am still saying that the 'Mahajot' will form the government. Only 3-4 rounds are over at this moment, while counting will continue for more than 15 rounds in most of the seats," All India Congress Committee National General Secretary Jitendra Singh said. He appealed to the people to "wait for another 2-4 hours by when the tally is likely to reverse".

14:43pm: West Bengal: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has taken a lead of over 4,000 votes in Nandigram seat after 12 rounds of counting. Nandigram has 17 rounds of counting.  (Outlook)

14:23pm: Assam: The BPF's three ministers Chandan Brahma, Rihon Daimary and Pramila Rani Brahma were trailing. The BPF is an ally of the BJP in the outgoing assembly.

14:22pm: Prashant Kishor: We have been confident about doing very well. I've said it in public. Whether 200 or 190... to my mind all that BJP was trying to do was build up massive propaganda that they are winning in Bengal. BJP is formidable and it will continue to be. We were confident that Trinamool would win more seats than many were expecting.

14:20pm: Kerala: While earlier in the day the BJP was leading in three seats, it has now reduced to 1 - that of E Sreedharanin Palakkad. Sreedharan's lead has slipped to just around 200.

14:19pm: Derek O'Brien: An emotional day after fighting the world’s most destructive force, MO-SHA’s BJP. Filthy campaign aided by agencies and shameless EC. A momentous day for India & Bengal. It is understandable that we are euphoric but we also know that during #Covid we have to celebrate responsibly.

14:12pm: Assam: “People’s blessings are with us,” said chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal as it became clear that the NDA was going to clear the majority mark of 64 with relative ease. On its own the opposition Congress looks it would do better than last time (26) with leads in 31 seats, but along with its allies, particularly the AIUDF and BPF, which was a late entrant to the ‘Mahajot’, the numbers still will fall short of 64. The Mahajot’s poor performance could be attributed to the BPF not doing well at all with the party leading in only one seat. The BPF had won 12 seats in 2016. The AIUDF leads in 13 seats, the number it had won in 2016. (Outlook)

14:09pm: The cadres are simply jubilant. Our leader's advice to the cadres is that let them celebrate from their homes as Election Commission is taking serious note of any violation. We are a responsible political party: TKS Elangovan, DMK, in Chennai (ANI)

14:01pm: Akhilesh Yadav congratulates Mamata, says people of Bengal defeated politics of hate

13:58pm: Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal tweeted congratulating Mamata Banerjee for what appears to be the Trinamool's massive victory in West Bengal. Mamata, however, is trailing in her constituency of Nandigram.

13:54pm: In Pathanamthitta, the ground zero of Sabarimala agitation, the CPI (M) led LDF is leading all five seats. The Pathanamthitta district constitutes five seats— Konni, Adoor, Thiruvalla, Aranmula, Ranni, which is currently held by the CPI (M) led LDF.  Going by current leads, LDF will retain all five seats. (Outlook)

13:53pm: Dilip Ghosh, the BJP West Bengal says the fight is still on as the counting is very slow and there are lots of seats where the difference is very small. "In many seats it is possible we will still win as the difference is very small," Ghosh told NDTV.

13:43pm: West Bengal: Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee Sunday said trends available for 284 seats indicate that the people of West Bengal have given a befitting reply to the repeated "attacks" on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

13:42pm: Tamil Nadu: Neither Kamal Haasan's MNM nor TTV Dhinakaran's AMMA are faring well this election. Haasan, however, is leading by 2,700 votes in Coimbatore South against Congress candidate Mayura S Jayakumar at the end of the sixth round. In Kovilpatti, Dhinakaran trails AIADMK Minister Kadambur C Raju, who leads by 1,500 votes at the end of the 7th round.

13:40pm: TMC supporters in Kolkata

13:36pm: Sharad Pawar congratulates Mamata Banerjee on 'stupendous victory'

13:35pm: Assam:  BJP will form govt in Assam, says CM Sonowal ahead of the declaration of poll results

13:34pm: Tamil Nadu: DMK candidates Kaaduvetti N Thiyagarajan leads with 11746 votes; AIADMK candidate M Selvarasu ahead with 8547 votes; NTK Sridevi Illangovan 1931.

13:30pm:  West Bengal: From Raj Chakraborty leading in BJP leader Arjun Singh’s territory to Sayoni Ghosh soaring past her BJP counterpart in Asansol Dakshin, Mamata Banerjee’s star-studded line-up hasn’t disappointer her so far. Banerjee is likely to return as the Chief Minister for the third consecutive term with the TMC leading in over 200 seats, while the BJP’s lead has slipped to 88 seats, as per early trends.

13:07pm: ECI takes serious note of reports coming in of congregation(s) of people to celebrate anticipated victory. EC has directed Chief Secretaries of all 5 states to file FIR in each such case, suspend concerned SHO, and report the action is taken immediately of each such incidence: ECI

13:03pm: Tamil Nadu: Official trends for 234 seats |DMK leading on 132 seats, AIADMK leading on 101 seats.

13:02pm: Assam: Official trends for 126 seats |BJP+ leading on 81 seats, INC+ leading on 45 seats.

12:55pm: Kerala: BJP's lead has slipped from 3 to 2 in Kerala. Kummanam Rajasekharan has a slim majority in Nemom while E Sreedharan leads in Palakkad. The LDF is set to form government in the state currently leading in 89. The UDF is leading in 45 seats.

12:45pm: Tamil Nadu: DMK President MK Stalin leads from Kolathur Assembly constituency

12:40pm: West Bengal round up:

1. Suvendu Adhikary leading Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram by 4,500 votes after the fifth round.

2. Union minister Babul Supriyo was trailing by 20,000 votes after the fifth round at Tollygunje.

3. BJP's Swapan Dasgupta trailing by 6,500 votes after the fifth round.

12:26pm: Bengal: The Trinamool Congress has crossed the 200 mark in leads with the BJP being pushed down to 90. These, just to be clear, are still leads and there are several rounds left to be counted. Mamata Banerjee is trailing in Nandigram to her former party colleague Suvendhu Adhikari who jumped to the BJP.

12:16pm: Tamil Nadu: DMK President MK Stalin leads from Kolathur Assembly constituency

 12:13pm: Bengal: Trinamool Congress's Derek O'Brien has tweeted a video of BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah stating the BJP would win 200 seats in Bengal. The BJP, according to current leads, is hovering at around 95.

12:09pm: Kerala: Ruling Left Alliance Set To Break 40-Year-Old Tradition, Retain Power Read More

12:03pm: Assam: BJP national vice president and party's in-charge of Baijayant Jay Panda congratulated the party workers in a tweet after surging to a lead.

11:58am: West Bengal: Union minister Babul Supriyo was trailing by about 20,000 votes behind outgoing Bengal minister Aroop Biswas from the Tollygunje constituency. 

11:56am: Assam: "It is clear that the BJP will form the next government with our allies UPPL and AGP,' said chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal. "People's blessings are with us," he added

11:49am: Kerala: Despite campaign aggressively in Kerala, the Congress party failed to win the state and defeat the LDF government. The Gandhis campaigned through the state and were hopeful that they would win. 

11:45am: Kerala: The CPI (M) led Left Democratic Front (LDF) is set to create history after four rounds of voting for the 140 assembly seats in the state. The LDF is currently leading in 91 seats and Congress-led United Front (UDF) in 46 seats and the BJP led NDA in three seats. (Outlook)

11:41am: Karnataka: The ruling BJP is leading in the bypolls to Belgaum Lok Sabha constituency and Basavakalya Assembly segment whereas Congress is leading in Maski. Mangala Suresh Angadi, the BJP candidate, is leading against Congress candidate Satish Jarkiholi in the Belgaum constituency by margin of around 12,000 votes. In Basavakalya, BJP's Sharanu Salagar is leading by about 4,400 votes against Mala B Narayan Rao, whereas Maski Congress candidate Basanagouda Turuvihal is ahead of BJP candidate Prathapagouda Patil by almost 8,000 votes.  (PTI)

11:39am: Tamil Nadu:The BJP is leading in five seats in early trends in Tamil Nadu. These seats include Tirunelveli (Nainar with over 5,000 votes), Dharapuram (state chief L Murugan), Harbour, Nilgiri and Kanyakumari. These results are encouraging for the party, which drew a blank in the last Assembly election in 2016 and the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.

11:36am: Assam: President of Raijor Dal, Akhil Gogoi, who contested the election from jail for the Sivasagar seat is ahead while Congress president Ripun Bora is reported to be trailing in Gohpur. (Outlook)

11:30am: Visuals: A deserted Counting station in North Kolkata Netaji Indoor stadium in Kolkata 

11:28am: Visuals:

11:27am: Assam Assembly Elections 2021: BJP All Set For An Easy Victory Read more

11:24am: DMK supporters gathered outside the party headquarters in Chennai to celebrate their party's victory in the assembly elections. The DMK is currently leading in 137 seats of 234. 

11:23am: DMK supporters gathered outside the party headquarters in Chennai to celebrate their party's victory in the assembly elections. The DMK is currently leading in 137 seats of 234. 

11:20am: In Pala, a seat represented for over 50 years by Kerala Congress strongman KM Mani, his son Jose is trailing by over 2500 votes. If this trend continues, it will be a shocker for Jose K Mani, who's now part of the LDF.

11:17am: The DMK alliance is racing ahead in Tamil Nadu, leading in 139 seats of the 234-member House. The AIADMK and its allies, meanwhile, are ahead in 93 seats. The DMK leads in 111 seats, and is short of forming the government on its own. It still relies on its allies to cross the magic mark of 118. While the AIADMK is doing well in north and western Tamil Nadu, several of its ministers are trailing in their constituencies. 

11:15am: WATCH: Election Wrap 2021

11:04am: The Trinamool Congress is pulling ahead in West Bengal and appears to be comfortably above the halfway mark of 146. Two seats won't be declared as candidates passed away during the election. The TMC is currently leading in 164 while the BJP is leading in 121.

On Twitter, Didi is silent and has only tweeted once, remembering film legend Satyajit Ray on his birth centenary.

11:03am: BJP heavyweights Babul Supriyo, Locket Chatterjee trailing from their respective constituencies.

10:56am: In Singur seat, TMC minister and candidate Becharam Manna is leading his nearest rival Rabidranath Bhattacharya of the BJP after first round of counting. TMC candidate from Bhabanipur, the seat vacated by Mamata Banerjee, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, is leading, and so is Firhad Hakim, a minister, from the Kolkata Port constituency. (PTI)

10:47am: The ruling NCP is leading over the opposition BJP in the bye-election to Pandharpur-Mangalvedha Assembly constituency in Maharashtra's Solapur district, as per initial trends of counting of votes on Sunday morning. 'At the end of the fourth round of counting, BJP's Samadhan Autade bagged 11,303 votes, while NCP's Bhagirath Bhalke polled 11,941 votes, taking a lead of 638 votes,' a district election official said. The NCP and the BJP are in a direct fight in the bypoll, which was necessitated following the death of NCP legislator Bharat Bhalke due to post-COVID-19 complications in November last year. - PTI

10:43am: Too early to say anything because there are so many rounds. Situation will be clear only by evening. We had started from 3 & were challenged that we won't get even 100, we have crossed that mark. We will cross the magic number too: Kailash Vijayvargiya, BJP (ANI)

10:39am: BJP's Kummanam Rajashekharan is ahead in Nemom where Congress leader K Muraleedharan is at number 3 now. In Palakkad, E Sreedharan has a good lead over Shafi Parambil of the Congress: EC data.

10:28am: In the first round of Damoh bypolls, Congress candidate Ajay Tandon is leading with 2823 votes, while the BJP's Rahul Singh got 2123 of the 5352 valid votes counted. The bypoll in Damoh was necessitated after Congress MLA Rahul Singh had defected to the BJP in October necessitating the bypolls. 

10:22am: A look at the EC date

Trends till 10.15 am show the TMC is getting 50% of the vote share, while the BJP's vote share stood at 36%. Going by leads, the TMC was leading in 187 seats and the BJP in 100. (Outlook)

10:19am: BJP53, Cong 36, AGP 10, AIUDF 5, BPF3,  RAIJOR DAL 2, ASOM JATIYA PARISHAD 2 (Outlook)

10:18am: Former CM and Congress candidate Oommen Chandy leading from Puthuppally.

10:15am: Assam: BJP alliance crosses majority mark with 65, Cong allies 36, others 4 from 105 trends. (Outlook)

10:13 am: The LDF in Kerala has just crossed the halfway mark in leads - 78 - while the UDF is leading in 57. The BJP is leading in 2 seats. 

10:09am: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is trailing her BJP rival Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram: Official (PTI)

10:07am: Early Trends Indicate Edge For DMK, LDF; Close Contest Between TMC, BJP In Bengal Read More

10:03am: An unused EVM was found inside a trunk at the counting centre premises in Assam's Hailakand on Saturday evening, a government release said.

10:02am: Guwahati: In trends available from 76, BJP alliance is ahead in 51 (BJP 39, UPPL 4, AGP8)Cong alliance in 21 (Cong 17, AIUDF 3, BPF 1) Raijor Dal2, Asom Jatiya Parishad 2.

9:58am: West Bengal is witnessing a neck and neck contest, with the TMC leading in about 152 seats and the BJP in 112 seats, as of 9.45 am. The counting will be held in 17 to 30 rounds. The initial trends are based on the first or the second round of counting.  Also read

9:57 am: In Tamil Nadu, current trends show DMK leading in 88 seats while AIADMK is up in 72 seats. Edapaddi K Palaniswami, M K Stalin, Kamal Haasan, ministers K A Sengottaiyan and S P Velumani, and BJP leader Nainar Nagendran are leading in their constituencies. Health Minister Vijayabaskar, Law Minister C V Shanmugam, and BJP leaders L Murugan and H Raja are trailing.

9:55am: In Palakkad constituency, E Sreedharan of the BJP is leading by over 1000 votes, mostly postal. Votes are being counted from the Kalpathy area, considered a pocket where BJP has support.

9:47am: Given the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the national capital as well as across the country, the BJP - currently leading in Assam and giving the Trinamool a neck-and-neck contest - has decided not to allow anyone inside its party headquarters in Delhi. 

9:45am: In a late-night message Saturday, Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said: 'At a time when Nation is facing an unprecedented crisis, when Govt under PM Modi has collapsed, we find it unacceptable to not hold them accountable & instead discuss election wins & losses. We @INCIndia have decided to withdraw our spokespersons from election debates. We shall remain available for any comment that media friends want. We may win, we may lose, but at a time when people are looking for oxygen, beds, medicines, ventilators; our duty tells us to stand by them, work with them to heal & help.'

9:43am: In Bengal, TMC crosses 100 - postal ballot leads

9:37am: Guwahati: In trends available from 67 of 126 seats, BJP alliance is ahead in 45, Cong alliance in 18 and others 4. (Outlook)

9:36am: India reports 3.92 lakh new Covid-19 cases: As counting continues across states, India registered 3689 Covid-19 related deaths in the last 24 hours and a total of 3.92 lakh cases. India has now reported over 2.15 lakh deaths due to Covid-19 so far.

9:35 am: Kamal Haasan leading in Coimbatore South, showed early trends. Counting of votes underway.

9:32am: Congress' Satish Laxmanrao Jarkiholi leading from Belgaum in Karnataka.

9:22am: Trends:

Kerala:

Assam:

Tamil Nadu

West Bengal

9:13am: BJP's Rajib Banerjee, Locket Chatterjee and Babul Supriyo are leading in the initial trends.

9:11am: A quick look at the postal lead numbers in the states

In Tamil Nadu, the DMK+ is leading in 40 while the AIADMK is leading in 32. In West Bengal, the TMC+ is leading in 74 while the BJP+ is leading in 72. In Kerala, the LDF Is leading in 61 while the UDF is leading in 47. BJP has taken a lead in 4. In Puducherry, the NRC+ is leading in 4 while Congress is leading in 1. In Assam, the BJP+ is leading in 29 while the Congress is leading in 18. AJP+ is leading in 3. - These are all postal ballots that are being counted and not the main EVM ballots.

9:06am: West Bengal Trend: The TMC and challenger BJP were Sunday locked in a neck-and-neck contest in West Bengal as the counting of postal ballots was underway, with the ruling party having a slight edge, officials said. While the TMC was leading in 64 constituencies, the BJP in 60.  The Left-Congress-ISF candidates are leading in three places.

9:05am: Assembly Election 2021: Why Assam And Kerala Matter More For Congress Than Bengal Read More

9:00 am: Himanta Sarma Leads from Jalukbari | State Finance and Health Minister and BJP's star campaigner Himanta Biswa Sarma is leading from Jalukbari constituency.

Early Leads

Guwahati East - Siddhartha Bhattacharya
Guwahati West - Ramendra Narayan Kalita
Jalukbari - Himanta Biswa Sarma

8:58 am: Amid Tight Security, Counting Of Votes Underway In Four States, One UT Read more

8:57 am: West Bengal: Gopal Som, a counting agent of Congress candidate from Panihati (North 24 Parganas), Tapas Majumder, was taken to a hospital after he fell unconscious at the counting centre. (ANI)

8:46am: Of the 30 assembly seats, the NRC+ is leading in 3 while the Congress is leading in 1. Exit poll surveys have predicted the Congress will lose in Puducherry. A month ahead of elections, several of its leaders resigned from the assembly forcing the then CM to resign ahead of  a trust vote. 

8:44am: DMK takes lead on 12 seats. AIADMK ahead on 6 seats, showed early trends.

8:43am: LDF leading on 4 seats in early trends.

8:41 am: The BJP is leading in 12, while the Congress is leading in 9.  The AJP+ is leading in 2. These too are postal ballots that are being counted. Exit poll surveys had indicated that the BJP will retain power in the state, making it the only party to win a second consecutive term in the state other than Congress, should it win.

8:38 am: The Trinamool and BJP are at 36 each with the Left-Congress alliance at 1, NDTV reports. These, again, are postal ballots that are still being counted and not the main ballot rounds. In Kerala, the LDF is leading in 30 while the UDF is leading in 27. The BJP+ is at 3. These too are postal ballots.

8:20 am: Counting of votes has also begun for the bye-election to the parliamentary constituencies in Andhra Pradesh (Tirupati), Karnataka (Belagavi), Kerala (Malappuram) and Tamil Nadu (Kanyakumari). Votes are also being counted for the by-election to Vidhan Sabha in 10 states

8:16 am: Guwahati: Counting begins with postal ballot at 8 am. This year the number is 1,50,033, a 414 per cent rise over 2016. "It is now up to god," says sitting BJP MLA from Batadrava constituency Angoorlata Deka. (Outlook)

8:15 am: Kerala: Congress leader and former CM Oommen Chandy offers prayers at Puthuppally Church. He is also the party's candidate from Puthuppally Assembly constituency. (ANI)

8:00 am: Counting begins

7:47 am: Assembly Election 2021 Result LIVE: Majority Mark and Total Seats

West Bengal: Total Seats 294 (292 went to poll), Majority mark: 148
Tamil Nadu: Total Seats 234, Majority mark: 118
Kerala: Total Seats 140, Majority mark: 71
Assam: Total Seats 126, Majority mark: 64
Puducherry: Total seats 30+three nominated members; Majority mark: 17

7:45 am: The counting of votes to begin at 8 am today. 

7:30 am: Under Covid Cloud, Counting Today In Four States, One UT

The much-awaited counting of votes for the bitterly contested Assembly polls in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will start at 8 am tomorrow morning under the Covid-19 cloud. The voting that extended over a month – with polling in West Bengal stretching across long eight phases – the political parties, especially the BJP had come under severe criticism for holding large crowded political rallies as the pandemic raged. Read more