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ECI Bars Abhishek Banerjee from Counting Centre Entry

The Election Commission of India barred Abhishek Banerjee from entering the counting centre in South Kolkata as he is not a contesting candidate. Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari were asked to surrender their mobile phones at the Bhabanipur counting centre. BJP is leading in 186 seats while TMC leads in 88 seats as per the latest trends. Several TMC ministers including Chandrima Bhattacharya and Sashi Panja are trailing in their respective constituencies.

Key Points: ECI Bars Abhishek Banerjee from Counting Centre

  • ECI bars Abhishek Banerjee from counting centre as non-candidate
  • Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari asked to surrender phones at centre
  • BJP leading in 186 seats, TMC in 88 as per latest trends
  • Several TMC ministers trailing in Assembly election counts
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ECI bars Abhishek Banerjee from entering counting centre

ECI bars TMC's Abhishek Banerjee from entering counting centre in Kolkata as he is not a candidate. Mamata Banerjee leads in Bhabanipur.

"ECI instructed the returning officer and the counting observers either to ask both the CM and LoP to keep their mobile phones outside the counting centre or seize the phones. - Election Commission of India"

Kolkata, May 4

The Election Commission of India, on Monday, barred Abhishek Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress General Secretary and the party's Lok Sabha member, from entering the counting centre at Hastings in South Kolkata as he is not a candidate in the recently held two-phase Assembly elections in West Bengal.

As Abhishek Banerjee arrived at the counting centre in Hastings, accompanied by his security team, an instruction was issued by the ECI to the returning officers and counting observers, prohibiting his entry into the premises, confirmed by an official from the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office.

Meanwhile, at Shakhawat Memorial Government Girls School in South Kolkata, where counting for the high-profile Bhabanipur Assembly constituency is still on, both the contesting candidates, namely Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, entered the polling centre premises with their mobile phones.

After noticing that the returning officers and the counting observers immediately contacted the CEO's office in Kolkata, which subsequently contacted the ECI's headquarters in New Delhi. Later, the ECI instructed the returning officer and the counting observers either to ask both the CM and LoP to keep their mobile phones outside the counting centre or seize the phones.

Meanwhile, as per the latest trend provided by the ECI, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won 11 seats and is comfortably ahead in 186 of the 293 Assembly constituencies where the counting is on, followed by Trinamool Congress, which has won two seats and is leading in 88, Congress is leading in two seats, Left Front-All India Secular Front (AISF) alliance is ahead in 2 seats.

A number of heavyweight members of the Mamata Banerjee-led cabinet, namely minister of state for finance (independent charge), Chandrima Bhattacharya, state women & child development and social welfare minister, Dr Sashi Panja, state fire services minister, Sujit Bose and the state education minister, Bartya Basu, among others, are trailing. At Bhabanipur, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is ahead, while in Nandigram, Suvendu Adhikari is leading.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

S
Sneha F
ECI showing partiality? First they let Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari inside with phones, then they make a big show of stopping Abhishek Banerjee. If he is not a candidate, yes he should not be inside, but why allow other VIPs with phones? This is typical election drama. 😏
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Aditya G
Great to see BJP leading in 186 seats! This is a clear mandate for development. Mamata di should accept this result gracefully. ECI did right by stopping non-candidates from entering counting centres. No one is above the law, whether TMC or BJP. Jai Hind! 🇮🇳
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Priya S
Why is everyone arguing about who entered where? The real issue is the leaders trailing! Chandrima Bhattacharya and Sashi Panja losing? This is a shock. Mamata di might win Bhabanipur but her cabinet is getting wiped out. West Bengal needs fresh leadership now. The people have spoken loudly.
J
James A
As an outsider looking in, this seems like a mess. ECI should have standardized the rules from the start, not made exceptions for some. The confusion with phones shows lack of planning. Still, India's democracy is vibrant and the counting process is transparent overall. Hope the final results are peaceful.
V
Varun X
ECI needs to be more consistent yar. Banning Abhishek Banerjee is fine, but then allowing Mamata and Suvendu with phones? That's not fair. Either strict for everyone or strict for none. Log kya kahenge? Anyway, exciting election results! BJP

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