Votes of over 5 crore to decide Bengal's fate today

Kolkata: Around 5.71 crore people have exercised their franchise in the seven phase election in Bengal this year to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha, taking the total poll percentage to 81.68.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha poll, Trinamool Congress had got 34 seats while Congress, BJP and CPI(M) had got 4, 2 and 2 seats respectively. Bengal has now seen an unprecedented election in 2019. Polls were held in seven phases after the Election Commission of India cited vulnerable environment. The first phase was held on April 11, while the last phase was held on May 19, with a span of 39 days.

The important seats that have drawn attention include Jadavpur and Basirhat, where Tollywood actors Mimi Chakraborty and Nusrat Jahan are contesting. Asansol is another important seat, where Moon Moon Sen, who was an MP from Bankura, is facing outgoing BJP MP Babul Supriyo.

In Purulia, BJP did well in the Panchayat election and the fight will be between outgoing MP Mriganko Mahato and the BJP contender.

Malda North is important too, where Trinamool candidate Mausam Noor, the Congress MP who joined Trinamool Congress recently, is fighting against her cousin. Saugata Roy, who was elected from the Dum Dum Lok Sabha seat, is contesting against BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya.

Similarly, Dinesh Trivedi, who was elected twice from the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat, is contesting against Arjun Singh of BJP. The Midnapore Lok Sabha seat is also important where Manas Bhuniya is contesting against BJP state president and MLA from Kharagpur town Dilip Ghosh.

The results of the exit poll shown on national and vernacular television channels mention that BJP will get 23, 16 or 11 seats in Bengal. Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee has, however, dismissed the exit poll as "gossip." The people will have to wait till Thursday afternoon to get a clear picture of the post-poll scenario in the state.