Kolkata, May 4: The high-profile Bhabanipur Assembly constituency is looking at a nail-biter contest as TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s lead margin over BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari dipped further to 12,131 votes after 10 of the 20 rounds of counting.
Banerjee had overcome the setback in the second round when her bete noire Adhikari secured a margin of 1,558 votes to surge ahead in the subsequent rounds of counting.
The TMC supremo had built a commanding lead of 17,371 votes by the end of the seventh round, polling 32,822 votes against Adhikari’s 15,451, before the margin narrowed in the subsequent rounds.
In the eighth round, her lead margin was 15,494 votes, which further dipped to 12,131 by the 10th.
According to Election Commission data, Banerjee secured 41,138 votes against Adhikari’s 29,007, with 10 more rounds of counting remaining.
The contest also witnessed sharp swings in the initial rounds.
Banerjee had opened with a lead of 1,996 votes in the first round, polling 3,666 votes against Adhikari’s 1,670. However, the leader of the opposition in the outgoing Assembly overturned the advantage in the second round, moving ahead by 1,558 votes.
Banerjee bounced back in the third round, regaining the lead by 898 votes, before surging ahead by 8,482 votes at the end of the fourth round.
The Bhabanipur seat will witness a total of 20 rounds of counting before results are declared.
Counting of votes for 293 assembly constituencies in West Bengal was underway amid tight security arrangements.
The Bhabanipur contest has emerged as one of the most keenly watched battles in the state, with Adhikari positioning himself as the BJP’s principal challenger to Banerjee in a prestige fight. (PTI)
