The Left Front had got 15 seats, with the CPI-M securing nine. The other LF partners triumphed in half a dozen constituencies. It is likely that the LF would end up with its worst show since its formation in 1977.
The BJP's best performance so far was in 1999, when it bagged two seats - but in alliance with the Trinamool. This time, BJP had fought all the 42 seats in the state on its own.
So long, the BJP's vote percentage of 12 was the highest in the state, but there are strong indications that it may end up with at least three-five percent more.
Bollywood singer and BJP candidate Babul Supriyo was ahead in Asansol while his party colleague S.S. Ahluwalia has left behind his opponents including former Indian soccer captain Bhaichung Bhutia of Trinamool. Another BJP candidate Birendra Bara (Oraon) was leading in Alipurduar.
Among the Trinamool candidates who are in the lead are former railways minister Dinesh Trivedi (Barrackpore), party supremo Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee (Diamond Harbour), state party chief Subrata Bakshi (Kolkata South), former union minister Sudip Bandyopadhyay (Kolkata North), Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's grand nephew and Harvard don Sugata Bose (Jadavpur), and former union minister Sougata Roy (Dum Dum).
