Celebrity nominees of Trinamool, who are in the lead, are actress Sandhya Roy (Medinipur), actor Tapas Pal (Krishnanagar), Satabdi Roy (Birbhum), and Arjuna awardee former Indian soccer captain Prasun Mukherjee (Howrah).
Amid an all-round dismal show, CPI-M central committee member Md. Salim was leading over his opponents in Raiganj.
Another Marxist candidate Muzaffar Hossain was in a neck and neck race with Congress nominee and president Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee in Jangipur. However, latest reports said Mukherjee had pushed ahead.
State Congress president and union minister Adhir Chowdhury was maintaining a substantial lead over his rivals in his old constituency Baharampur, while another union minister Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury was occupying the pole position in Maldah South.