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Published 18:09 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll Results 2021 LIVE: Republic-CNX poll projects BJP edge over TMC

Incumbent CM Mamata Banerjee eyes to fend off an emerging BJP and Congress-Left-ISF alliance from toppling her 10-year Bengal rule. Polls for 294-seat assembly was held in 8 phases, results on May 2

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22:30 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll LIVE: BJP & TMC spar over West Bengal exit polls, Swapan Dasgupta, MP contestants & Nandigram

As BJP eyes to breach the Bengal frontier on May 2, TMC spokesperson Riju Dutta and convenor of Election Committee of BJP Shishir Bajoria spoke exclusively to Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami after the Exit Polls. The TMC Spokesperson said that the only person he feels sorry for in the saffron party is Swapan Dasgupta who resigned from the Rajya Sabha to contest from Tarakeshwar. 

Reacting to Riju Dutta, Shishir Bajoria said, "Very clearly, what Swapan Da did was he put everything on the platter of West Bengal. He was a presidential nominee, it's a fact, and he still has his term left. But for the call of West Bengal, Swapan Da not only resigned from the post of MP but for many months, he has been living in Kolkata."

Giving a stern reply to TMC Spokesperson's statements, BJP's convenor of the Election Committee remarked that when one talks about MPs going back to their seats'', all of BJP's 4 MPs are winning. Responding to Riju Dutta's claim that Swapan Dasgupta would have been a much better candidate for urban Kolkata than Tarakeshwar, Bajoria said, "Look I'm from BJP and you are from TMC and when one speaks about choosing the wrong constituency, sitting West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee decided to ditch her home constituency- Bhowanipore because she was scared. 

"So if you think like this, then let me tell you that as per exit polls, Swapan Dasgupta is winning and BJP is giving a close fight in Nandigram," Shishir Bajoria added. 


22:30 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll LIVE: TMC accepts 'close contest in Nandigram' amid exit poll projections

The Trinamool Congress, which in the past two months had exuded confidence about its victory on majority of the seats in West Bengal, including the center of attraction Nandigram, in an exclusive conversation with Republic Media Network, betrayed nerves. In what seems like a never-heard-before comment, leader of the party Riju Dutta asserted, "Nandigram is a close contest."



21:25 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll LIVE: Poll of polls projects BJP & TMC neck-to-neck


19:48 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll LIVE: TMC Spokesperson says 'No chance for Babul Supriyo

Watch Live Exit poll projections on Youtube here



19:43 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll LIVE: Republic -CNX Exit poll projects Left-Congress alliance to win 11-21 seats


19:40 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll Results 2021 LIVE: Republic-CNX poll projects close fight in Nandigram



19:22 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll Results 2021 LIVE: Republic-CNX poll projects BJP edging out TMC, passing halfway mark

* As of 1 PM on Phase - 8 polls (29 April 2021)


19:22 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll LIVE: Republic-CNX poll projects BJP edge in voteshare

* As of 1 PM on Phase - 8 polls (29 April 2021)



18:53 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll LIVE: 'BJP is a election machine', says Suhel Seth


18:29 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll LIVE: 2016 Assembly performance

Mamata Banerjee-led TMC had swept the 2016 Assembly polls by bagging 211 seats in the 294-member Assembly. In West Bengal, 294 seats are up for grabs and people will be able to cast their votes at 1,01,916 polling stations. Buoyed by its stupendous 2019 Lok Sabha performance, BJP is looking to oust TMC and is aiming at winning over 200 seats this time. While Congress was the second-largest party in 2016, it has tied with the Left and the ISF to form the Sanjukta Morcha.



18:29 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll LIVE: Polling in 8 phases

Amid COVID and widespread poll violence, EC  had announced that the battle for the 294-seat Assembly will be held in 8 phases - March 27, April 1, 6, 10, 17, 22, 26 and 29. Results will be held on May 2. Polling on two seats - Jangipur and Samserganj - has been deferred due to death of two candidates. These two seats will go to polls on May 16, and the results for these two seats will be declared on May 19.


18:29 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll LIVE: Bengal rallies flout COVID norms, EC pulls up

With BJP, Trinamool and the Congress-Left alliance entangled in a battle for Bengal, top leaders like PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Choudhury were holding massive rallies and roadshows across the state. Visuals shared by these leaders show massive crowds flouting social distancing guidelines, not wearing masks, cheering as the nation battles a second COVID-19 wave. With experts expressing concern over the lack of any social distancing in these rallies, many have criticised these politicians for sending the wrong message amid a pandemic. Later, EC banned roadshows and cycle, bike, and vehicle rallies and limited public meetings to a maximum of 500 persons for the West Bengal elections.



18:18 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll LIVE: 8 Key seats

Jhargram: A TMC stronghold which had been vacant since TMC MLA Sukumar Hansda died in 2020, will see a face off between actor & TMC leader Birbaha Hansda against BJP's Sukhmoy Satpati. The constituency which is dominated by SC/ST communities - Santhals and Kurmis is being eyed by both parties as Kurmis dominate in about 30 out of the 42 constituencies in the region. In 2016, Hansda won the constituency with 99233 votes.

Haldia: An industrial belt in East Medinipur, Haldia is one of the key seats that the TMC lost to the CPI(M) in 2016. While TMC's Seuli Saha had won the seat in 2011, trumping CPM's Nityananda Bera, CPM's Tapasi Mondal won the seat in 2016, trumping Trinamool's Madhurima Mandal. With Mondal switching BJP, she faces CPI (M) Kar Paik Manika and TMC's Swapan Naskar.

Diamond Harbour- A TMC stronghold, Diamond Harbour will witness a battle for power among a veteran in politics 70-year-old Pannalal Halder of TMC, a two-time sitting MLA of TMC who is contesting from BJP ticket this time, Dipak Kumar Halder and Prateek Ur Rahaman of CPM. In 2016, Dipak Kumar Halder had defeated CPM's Subhra Sau by 20,774 votes and won the constituency for TMC, but now that he has changed sides, it would interesting to see if TMC, with Mamata Banerjee's nephew And Member of Parliament from the region Abhishek Banerjee, campaigning effortlessly, is retaining the constituency. 

Howrah Dakshin: Falling under the Howrah district, this constituency will see a faceoff between BJP's Rantidev Sengupta and TMC's Nandita Chowdhury. Sengupta is the editor of the RSS' Bengali mouthpiece Swastika. While the senior journalist initially expressed his unwillingness to contest the election and urged BJP to select another candidate for the seat, he reversed his stance after speaking to the party leadership. In the previous election, TMC's Brajamohan Majumder beat CPI(M)'s Arindam Basu by over 16,000 votes.

Rajarhat Gopalpur: Aditi Munsi (TMC) vs Samik Bhattacharya (BJP)

West Bengal BJP chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya, who has served as the Basirhat Dakshin MLA in the past is vying for election from Rajarhat Gopalpur this time. He is pitted against popular singer Aditi Munsi who is contesting on a TMC ticket. Incumbent TMC MLA Purnendo Bose won this seat by a margin of 6,874 votes in the last Assembly polls. In the 2011 election, he had trounced the sitting CPI(M) legislator Rabindranath Mondal by 35,725 votes.

Dum Dum Uttar: Chandrima Bhattacharya (TMC) vs Tanmoy Bhattacharya [CPI(M)] 

The incumbent MLA Tanmoy Bhattacharya of CPI(M) faces an uphill task to retain his seat on this occasion. This is because WB Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya has again been fielded by TMC in Dum Dum Uttar. Though she lost to Tanmoy Bhattacharya in the 2016 Assembly polls, the TMC leader entered the Assembly by winning the Kanthi Dakshin by-election in 2017. At present, she is serving as the MoS Housing (Independent Charge), Health and Family Welfare, Land and Land Reforms & Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation, Panchayats and Rural Development. BJP's Archana Majumdar is also in contention.

Rashbehari: Lt. Gen Subrata Saha (BJP) Vs Debasish Kumar (TMC)

A TMC bastion in Kolkata, held by Sobhandeb since 1998 will witness a tough battle between TMC's Debasish Kumar and former deputy chief of army staff Lt Gen Subrata Saha (BJP). Lt.Gen Saha - ex-member of National Security Advisory Board has been fielded by the saffron party to stir 'nationalist sentiment' - a key plank since Lok Sabha 2019 polls. On the other hand, Debashish Kumar, known for his groundwork during the COVID lockdown and cyclone Amphan eyes to win the seat for Trinamool. 

Bharatpur: Kamalesh Chatterjee (Congress) vs Humayun Kabir (TMC) vs Iman Kalyan Mukherjee (BJP)

Bharatpur will witness a fascinating three-way contest this time with Congress' Kamalesh Chatterjee seeking to retain his seat. In the previous election, he trounced TMC's Khadem Dastegir by a margin of 11,017 votes. However, Revolutionary Socialist Party's Id Mohammad emerged as the winner in 2011 with Congress' Daliya Begum as the runner-up. On this occasion, TMC has reposed faith in ex-IPS officer Humayun Kabir. Having joined the Mamata Banerjee-led party in February 2021, he served as the  Chandannagar Police Commissioner. BJP's Iman Kalyan Mukherjee is also in the fray. 


18:18 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll LIVE: CNX methodology

To understand that which party has the edge after voting in the state, CNX, a Delhi based research & survey agency, conducted the exit poll survey at the polling booths in West Bengal. A list of questions was prepared by the Republic-CNX team to understand the possible voting behavior of the Bengali people in the assembly elections in the state. A quantitative survey using a structured questionnaire was administered randomly to 35,280 men and women from section A and section B households, in the age group of 18 to 60. The survey team visited all the 294 Assembly seats in the states going deep into by-lanes and meeting people from all walks of life.



18:09 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll LIVE: Bengal poll battle


The saffron party is gearing for a tough battle in Bengal - aiming to attain more than 200 seats, while not fielding a CM face yet.  With over 65,000 booth committees and 14,000 Shakti Kendra constituted, the BJP has appointed five veterans as central observers - with the final call to be taken by Amit Shah.  BJP has also seen an inrush of disgruntled TMC leaders like - Suvendu Adhikari and his two brothers, Rajib Banerjee, Jitendra Tiwari, Vaishali Dalmiya, Dinesh Tiwari and recently Mithun Chakraborty. BJP has promised 33% reservation for women on state govt jobs, PM-KISAN arrear of Rs 18,000 for 75 lakh farmers, Ayushman Bharat Yojana, free education to women and implementing CAA in its manifesto as it eyes to forms its first government in Bengal.

TMC, on the other hand, has pushed Mamata Banerjee's 'Bengal's daughter' image, daring the BJP with its catch slogan 'Khela Hobe!' (Game is on). Taking up BJP's challenge, Mamata has filed her nomination from Nandigram, setting up a high-voltage battle against her former aide - Suvendu Adhikari. Mamata, who recently suffered an injury which she has blamed on BJP, has vowed to conduct her campaign on a wheelchair with the BJP calling it 'sympathy politics'. TMC has also promised 10 lakhs new MSMEs, Rs 1000 pensions for widows, free ration delivery, Rs 1.06 Crore for Economic support in its manifesto, as Mamata aims to defend her turf from a rising BJP.

The Congress-Left-ISF completed its seat-sharing pact, with Congress grabbing 92 seats, Left 165 seats and ISF 37 seats. Inspite of ISF eyeing the high-stakes Nandigram seat which will see Mamata Banerjee taken on former aide Suvendu Adhikari, the Left Front will contest from that seat. Siddiqui, who has also held talks with AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, has stated that he will not field candidates where AIMIM is contesting. While Congress has allied with the Left in its bid to end Mamata Banerjee's 10-year term and fight an emerging BJP in Bengal, Congress is the prime opponent against the Left government in Kerala.


18:09 IST, April 29th 2021

West Bengal Exit Poll LIVE: 8 Key battles

Nandigram: Mamata Vs Suvendu

In a bid to protect her home-turf, Mamata Banerjee will battle BJP's Suvendu Adhikari in the place which had catapulted Mamata Banerjee into the CM post in 2011. Apart from them, CPI(M) has fielded Minakshi Mukherjee in a bid to regain lost ground for the CPI(M).

Miffed by the rising influence of Banerjee's nephew - Abhishek Banerjee and IPAC poll strategist Prashant Kishor in Trinamool, Adhikari along with several other MLAs had switched to BJP. Taking the battle head-on, Banerjee had announced she will contest polls from Nandigram instead of her bastion Bhowanipore, leading to BJP fielding Adhikari. While Nandigram is a Trinamool bastion, it is the Adhikari family - Sisir, Suvendu, Dibyendu and Soumendu which has massive sway in the district - setting up a Mamata Vs Adhikari family battle. Amid the farmers' protest too, the Nandigram land agitation has come to the forefront, with Mamata accusing BJP of 'selling off farmers' lands to businessmen'.

Moreover, while TMC has alleged that Adhikari has harboured 'criminals' in various parts of Nandigram ahead of phase-2, BJP submitted an alleged tape of a conversation between CM Mamata Banerjee and BJP's Nandigram Vice-president Praloy Paul where the CM is heard seeking Paul's help in Nandigram, while he refuses to leave Suvendu Adhikari's side. Adhikari won Nandigram in 2016 defeating Left's Abdul Kadir, till he quit Trinamool recently, while his brother Dibyendu still remains a TMC MP. His father- Sisir Adhikari - a TMC MP has now joined BJP.

The Nandigram poll battle saw the most high-voltage campaign as Mamata played her 'Bengal's daughter' card, while Suvendu has accused TMC of only 'promoting the nephew'. Mamata, who recently suffered an injury while campaigning in Nandigram - which she has blamed on BJP, has vowed to conduct her campaign on a wheelchair with the BJP calling it 'sympathy politics'. Mamata has also termed Adhikaris as 'Mir Jafars' while Suvendu has fearmongered that 'Bengal will become mini-Pakistan' if Mamata is re-elected.

Purulia: In a rare three-way fight, sitting Congress MLA Sudip Mukherjee who joined the BJP recently will face Congress' Partha Pratim Banerjee and Trinamool's Sujoy Banerjee. The seat which has a 19.35% SC population and 19.22% ST population as per 2011 census, has been held by both Congress and TMC. In 2011, TMC's KP Singh Deo trounced CPM's Kaushik Mazumdar by 26,487 votes, while in 2016, Congress' Sudip Mukherjee defeated TMC's Dibyajyoti Prasad Singh Deo by a slim margin of 4,911 votes

Kamarhati: Madan Mitra (TMC) vs Anindya Banerjee (BJP)

Falling under the Dum Dum Lok Sabha segment, Kamarhati is a part of the North 24 Parganas district. The result in this constituency assumes great significance as TMC heavyweight Madan Mitra is contesting from here. The former Sports and Transport Minister spent over 21 months in prison over his alleged involvement in the Saradha scam case. While he lost this seat to Manash Mukherjee of CPI(M) in the previous election by a narrow margin of 4198 votes, the Mamata Banerjee-led party has reposed faith in him. BJP's Anindya Banerjee and CPI(M)'s Sayandeep Mitra are the other main contenders. 

Tarakeswar: Swapan Dasgupta (BJP) Vs Ramendu Sinha Roy (TMC)

The high-stakes battle for the Hindu pilgrim site Tarkeshwar in Hooghly came into focus after BJP fielded its sitting Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta against TMC's Ramendu Sinha Roy and CPI(M)’s Sujit Ghosh. With PM Modi himself campaigning for Dasgupta, who resigned from Rajya Sabha to contest for the seat, the BJP eyes to make inroads into the TMC bastion. Pitting 'Jai Shree Ram' against TMC's 'outsider' jibe, Dasgupta - an aspiring CM candidate relies heavily on the 93.22% Hindu population to oust Trinamool which has held the seat since 2011. TMC's Rachhpal Singh had trounced NCP's  Surajit Ghosh in 2016, while he had defeated CPM's  Pratim Chatterjee in 2011.

Tollygunge: Babul Supriyo (BJP) Vs Aroop Biswas (TMC)

The biggest face-off in this phase is between Union Minister Babul Supriyo and sitting TMC minister Aroop Biswas for Tollygunge - the heart of the Bengali film industry. Falling under the Jadavpur Lok Sabha seat, the Asansol MP had staged a protest after being gheraoed by a section of students in the Jadavpur University for nearly six hours. While Supriyo has defeated TMC’s Dola Sen in both 2014 and 2019 from the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency, Tollygunge has voted for Aroop Biswas in 2011 and 2016, trouncing CPM's candidates.

Balurghat: Sekhar Dasgupta (TMC) vs Ashok Lahiri (BJP) vs Sucheta Biswas (RSP)

In a three-way fight, renowned economist Ashok Lahiri has been fielded by BJP against TMC's Sekhar Dasgupta and RSP's Sucheta Biswas in this Dakshin Dinajpur district seat. Lahiri - the former Chief Economic Adviser who was to be fielded from Alipurduar, but later switched to Balurghat, aims to strengthen the inroads BJP has made in the areas. In 2011, TMC's Chakraborty Shankar had trounced RSP's Biswanath Choudhury while Choudhary defeared Shankar by a slender margin of 1450 votes.

Krishnanagar Uttar: Mukul Roy (BJP) vs Koushani Mukherjee (TMC)

Falling under the Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency, this seat has been vacant since June 2020 when TMC MLA Abani Mohan Joardar passed away. BJP has fielded former close aide of WB CM Mamata Banerjee and its current national vice president Mukul Roy in Krishnanagar Uttar. Incidentally, the former Railways Minister has not won a single direct election to either the Parliament or Assembly yet. He is pitted against Bengali actress Koushani Mukherjee of TMC. In the previous election, Joardar defeated his closest rival Asim Kumar Saha of CPI(M) by a margin of over 12,000 votes.

Maniktala: A three-way fight will be witnessed between Bengal Consumer Affairs Minister Sadhan Pandey (TMC), former India footballer and BJP candidate Kalyan Chaubey and CPI(M)’s Rupa Bagchi for this Kolkata North constituency. The TMC veteran has held the seat since 2011, trouncing Bagchi by a margin of 36,550 votes in 2011 and defeating CPM's Rajib Majumder in 2016.


Updated 23:11 IST, April 29th 2021