Vote counting has begun for the recently concluded elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal for a total of 822 assembly seats.

The elections had begun on March 27 and concluded on April 29, with West Bengal witnessing the highest number of phases being slated for it.

While various exit polls have predicted a win for LDF in Kerala, victory for BJP in Assam, & landslide victory for DMK in Tamil Nadu, the polls have indicated at a close fight between TMC and BJP in West Bengal. Six out of nine exit polls have predicted a victory for TMC ensuring a third term for Mamata Banerjee as the Chief Minister.

In earliest trends, in Tamil Nadu, DMK leads in 40 seats and AIADMK is leading in 32 seats, & in West Bengal, TMC is leading in 74 seats, while BJP leads in 72 seats. Postal ballots have given TMC an edge. In Kerala, LDF is leading in 61 seats and UDF is leading in 47 seats. In Assam, BJP is leading in 29 seats while Congress is leading in 18 seats.

With regards to the recently conducted polls, Election commission of India has received flak from Madras High court over being responsible for the second wave of Coronavirus infections. The High Court had stated that the officers of the  poll-body should be booked under murder charges. While the poll body has moved the Supreme court with regards to the comments made by Madras High Court, it can not be ignored that the State of West Bengal had seen uninhibited rallies which indirectly led to a higher number of infections, while the election commission remained silent.