West Bengal Exit Poll results 2026 LIVE: Can BJP dislodge Mamata's TMC? What pollsters say

WB CEC Manoj Kumar Agarwal denied allegations that CCTV cameras at the Bhabanipur strong room were turned off.

He said live CCTV footage from all eight strong rooms — seven for EVMs and one for postal ballots — is being continuously telecast.

Political party representatives are allowed to monitor the footage from beyond the three-layer security arrangement.

Agarwal said movement seen around 4 pm was linked to officials opening the postal ballot strong room “as per rules.”

According to him, all political parties and candidates were informed in advance by the Returning Officer about the postal ballot room procedure.

He said three candidates visited the site after 4 pm and verified that EVM strong rooms remained sealed while only the postal ballot room was opened.

The three candidates reportedly left after inspecting the arrangements.

Shashi Panja and Kunal Ghosh staged a dharna alleging possible tampering with EVMs.

Agarwal asserted there would be “no law and order situation” during counting.

He said the counting process would be “100% neat and clean just like the elections were.”

Manoj Kumar Agarwal, State Chief Electoral Officer, says complaints have been received from 77 polling booths.

Election officials found prima facie merit in complaints related to 23 booths.

Detailed scrutiny of the complaints is still underway.

Final decision on possible repolling has not yet been taken.

State Observer’s report is expected by morning.

Manoj Kumar Agarwal says authorities can comment definitively only after reviewing the observer’s findings.

On TMC claiming elderly man died after assault by central forces in Howrah, State Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal says, "This was an 82-year-old man who had come to vote along with his son. He was unwell, but he still insisted on going to the booth to vote. He entered the booth and walked to the EVM. When he came out after voting, he collapsed. No paramilitary force remains present inside the booth. There is CCTV footage and a statement of the Presiding Officer and everyone else."

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says, "There is a strong room here for EVMs. We found that in many places, manipulation is taking place. When I saw the CCTV on TV, I thought I should also go and see it. Initially, the Central Forces wouldn't let me enter. But according to our election rules, the candidate and election agent of any party are allowed up to the sealed room. Our agent has been arrested; there has been so much one-sidedness. Even after that, if someone tries to steal the EVM machine, if someone tries to steal the counting, then we will fight life and death together."

BJP candidate Tapas Roy rejects allegations of opening of ballot boxes in strongroom. He says, "This is just a rumour, nothing else. This cannot be done. They are making such claims because they are going to lose, that is why they are spreading rumours. There are three layer security arrangements in place, as far as I know, and this is nothing new. They can stay there and watch from a certain distance; everything is allowed by the Election Commission. But the way they are spreading rumours is not correct."

The Calcutta High Court declines interim relief in a plea by the Trinamool Congress claiming that state government employees were being excluded from being appointed as counting supervisors. The HC says that the TMC can consider an election petition if any material is established at a later stage.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is reportedly heading to Netaji Indoor Stadium, where TMC leaders allege attempts are being made to open ballot boxes before the counting of votes on May 4.

TMC leaders Shashi Panja and Kunal Ghosh sat on a dharna in front of the strong room, outside Netaji Indoor Stadium. They alleged that attempts are being made by BJP and ECI officials to open boxes without the presence of relevant party representatives.

“You can watch in the livestreaming and CCTV camera of Election Commission that a few people are working inside. None of our representatives is inside...They are not letting us in. They are asking us to speak with other candidates. Why should we take responsibility of other candidates?” Kunal Ghosh says.

“We are concerned. There should be no manipulation. Why are we not being shown all of that?," Shashi Panja says.

Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, CPI(M) candidate for the Jadavpur Assembly constituency, has said that Mamata Banerjee’s frustration is obvious because her goons were not able to have a free hand this time.

“Since 2011 onwards, till today, the elections have been controlled by TMC goons. After 11 a.m., all the booths were taken over by them, these goons, and they used to control. Now this time they failed and that's the frustration and fear of Mamata...This time, the Police had discharged their basic obligation and probably they got the courage since the central force was over there. I didn't find that the central force acted in any objectionable manner," he said.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has alleged that the Election Commission has never been "more compromised" than it is under CEC Gyanesh Kumar, who, he claimed, acted as a player in the just-concluded state assembly polls.

Ramesh asserted on Thursday that the Opposition would continue its efforts to get Kumar removed from the post of CEC (Chief Election Commissioner).

The Congress leader alleged that the right to vote was under threat in the country and it was time to make it a fundamental right for citizens instead of a constitutional right. The remark came against the backdrop of the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) of electoral rolls whereby lakhs of names were struck off the rolls in several states.

West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Thursday said that a three-layer security has been put in place as the state gears up for the final preparations ahead of the counting of votes scheduled to take place on May 4.

He also ruled out repolling in Nadia, Kolkata North and Kolkata South, a day after political parties witnessed tensions and incidents of clashes on the second and final day of polling in West Bengal.

"Everything is complete in Nadia, Purba Bardhaman, Kolkata North and Kolkata South. No repolling is scheduled here. Partial work was complete, by the time I received report, in Howrah, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and other districts. But there was no issue of repolling there...Maybe at this point in time, 80-90% of the work is complete. I am speaking to you based on the reports received at 3-3.30 pm," Agarwal said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee released a video message on Thursday after exit poll results suggested a possible BJP victory in the state. In her video, Mamata suggested that the exit polls were released with the intention of demoralizing TMC workers. She also expressed confidence about retaining power in West Bengal, winning more than 226 seats.

Polling agency Today's Chanakya will release its exit poll results for the state of West Bengal at 6:30 pm on Thursday.

TMC MP Saket Gokhale has hit out at Axis My India and its founder, Pradeep Gupta, after the poll agency announced that it will not release the exit poll for West Bengal, citing reliability concerns.

While Today's Chanakya’s exit poll correctly predicted a TMC win, the Mamata Banerjee-led party defied all predictions to win 213 of 292 seats.

Pradeep Gupta, the founder of Axis My India, has said that his agency will not release exit poll data for West Bengal as it has not obtained a sufficiently representative sample.

"See, the method of Axis My India is talking to people face to face. And when we tried to talk after the first phase, about 60-70 per cent of the people had their lips sealed. They were not even ready to say yes or no," Gupta told NDTV.

"No one is ready to talk to anyone in the context of elections. So, as long as our sample is not representative, on the basis of a 20-30 per cent sample, we do not believe it is right to predict any number. For that, we will try once again Thursday. Maybe now that the elections have been held, people will be more relaxed," he added.

Hearing of the plea in the Calcutta High Court challenging the ECI decision to deploy only employees of the Central government and PSUs as counting supervisors has concluded.