Lok Sabha election 2019: Counting of votes in West Bengal begins

Lok Sabha election 2019 in West Bengal saw the Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wooing the electorate aggressively resulting in violent incidents across the state. The 42 Lok Sabha constituencies, which saw 466 candidates in the fray, will get their MPs after the results are declared later on May 23.

With Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress trying hard to hold fort and the BJP going all out, the Left Front and Congress have been reduced to fringe players in Lok Sabha election 2019. Many seats in the state are witnessing a direct contest between the Trinamool and BJP.

PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah toured the state extensively, addressing mammoth rallies. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, too, matched them with her aggressive campaigns.

The state voted in all seven phases of Lok Sabha election - April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19.

The 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal are Cooch Behar, Alipurduars, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Raiganj, Balurghat, Maldaha Uttar, Maldaha Dakshin, Jangipur, Baharampur, Murshidabad, Krishnanagar, Ranaghat, Bangaon, Barrackpore, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Joynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, Kolkata Uttar, Howrah, Uluberia, Srerampur, Hooghly, Arambagh, Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, Bishnupur, Bardhaman Purba, Burdwan-Durgapur, Asansol, Bolpur and Birbhum.

West Bengal Lok Sabha Election 2019: Key contests
In the high-profile constituency of Diamond Harbour, Mamata Banerjee's nephew and Trinamool candidate Abhishek Banerjee is up against BJP's Nilanjan Roy while in Jangipur, former president and Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee is facing Trinamool’s Khalilur Rehman.

Arjun Singh, a former Trinamool MLA from Bhatpara, is contesting on a BJP ticket from Barrackpore against former Union minister and TMC candidate Dinesh Trivedi. Trinamool’s sitting MP Arpita Ghosh is seeking  re-election from Balurghat where she is facing Ranen Barman of RSP, Sukanta Mazumdar of BJP, Abdus Sadek Sarkar of Congress and Nalin Chandra Murmu of BSP.

Alipurduar is witnessing a four-cornered contest between TMC's Dasarath Tirkey, BJP's John Barla, Congress' Mohanlal Basumata and Revolutionary Socialist Party's Mili Oraon while in Cooch Behar, the battle is between TMC's Paresh Chandra Adhikari, BJP's Nisith Pramanik, Congress' Piya Roy Chowdhury and Gobinda Roy of All India Forward Bloc.

In Jalpaiguri, TMC's Bijoy Chandra Barman is up against BJP's Jayanta Kumar Roy, Congress' Mani Kumar Darnal and CPI(M)'s Bhagirath Chandra Roy. In Darjeeling, the battle is between TMC's Amar Singh Rai, BJP's Raju Bista, Congress' Sankar Malakar and CPI(M)'s Saman Pathak.
TMC has nominated Kanhaiyalal Agarwal in Raiganj seat against Md Salim of CPI(M), Deepa Dasmunshi of Congress and Debasree Chowdhury of BJP.

In Maldaha North, two-time sitting MP Mausam Benazir Noor – niece of late Congress leader ABA Gani Khan Choudhury -- is contesting on a Trinamool ticket against her cousin and Congress candidate Isha Khan Choudhury, son of Congress MP from Malda South Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury. Congress has once again fielded Choudhury from Malda South, who is facing Trinamool’s Mohammad Moazzem Hossain and BJP’s Sreerupa Mitra Chowdhury.