New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to script history by dethroning TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and coming to power in the state for the first time.
The saffron party is currently leading in 180 seats and the magic number to form the government in the state is 148 seats, according to News18 as of 11:45 am.
Here are some of the key factors that could have led to the TMC, which has been ruling the state since 2011, having to now sit on the opposition benches.
1) SIR effect
The controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters’ list is believed to have played a pivotal role in the election results in the state. Nearly 91 lakh voters were deleted from the rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). There are at least 28 seats where at least 20,000 names were deleted post-adjudication. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in at least 8 of those seats, according to CNBC-TV18.
2) Consolidation of Hindu votes
BJP leader and LoP Suvendu Adhikari has claimed Hindu votes have consolidated, attributing it to early leads showing the saffron party crossing the majority mark.
“This time there's a Hindu consolidation, and the way Muslims vote for TMC, they have not done that this time. Some votes have gone to the pro-Muslim party. BJP has also got some in small amounts. I was not expecting such a good performance in the Muslim booth in Nandigram,” he said as quoted by India Today.
3) Anti-incumbency
The TMC, which was eyeing a fourth consecutive term, faced anti-incumbency, which it failed to counter and the BJP emerged as an alternative for voters.
4) Deteriorating law and order
The TMC government faced allegations of a deteriorating law and order situation. Cases like the RG Kar rape and murder case and the Kolkata law college gang rape case put the Mamata government in a negative spotlight.
5) Division of secular votes
The Congress is currently not leading in a single seat. However, the Grand Old Party contested on 292 seats, which could have divided the secular vote. However, clarity on this will emerge after the final numbers are out and it is known how many votes Congress polled and the margin of the TMC's defeat.
