Violence Erupts at Counting Centres in Asansol and Barrackpore Amid Vote Counting for West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026

Tensions erupted at a counting centre in Asansol on Monday, 4th May 2026, as violence broke out between polling agents amidst the ongoing vote counting for the West Bengal Assembly elections.

The incident occurred at the Asansol Engineering College counting centre, where a scuffle between agents quickly escalated into violence and vandalism. Chairs and vehicles were vandalised, forcing security personnel to carry out a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd.

Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate Commissioner Pranav Kumar said a political party camp was targeted by miscreants. “A political party camp was vandalised. The people responsible for the vandalism are being identified,” he said.

Similar incidents were also reported from other regions as well. In North 24 Parganas district’s Barrackpore region, a scuffle broke out at the counting centre at the Rastraguru Surendranath college. Security personnel were quickly dispatched to the spot to bring the situation under control. 

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Meanwhile, in Cooch Behar’s Dinhata, clashes erupted between TMC and BJP supporters. Central forces carried out a lathi-charge to disperse the agitated crowd.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Jalpaiguri Anjali Singh, speaking to reporters in Cooch Behar, assured that the situation has since been mitigated. "The situation is peaceful with law and order. There is neither disruption nor anticipation of any disruption - the situation is peaceful. We have the Force ready in case of any situation emerging,” DIG Singh stated.

The violence comes amid a major swing in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has crossed the majority mark in the fiercely contested election, posing a serious challenge to the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by Mamata Banerjee.

West Bengal Assembly Election 2026: Early Trends

According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP is currently leading in 156 seats, while the Trinamool Congress is ahead in 86 constituencies. Its ally BGPM is leading in one seat.

See also: Delhi CM Rekha Gupta's ‘Jhalmuri-rasgulla party as BJP inches closer to victory in Bengal

If the current trend continues, the BJP is poised to form its first-ever government in West Bengal, ending more than a decade of Trinamool Congress rule.

West Bengal Leader of Opposition and senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari expressed strong confidence in a decisive victory. “The BJP will form the government with more than 180 seats,” he said. Taking a swipe at the ruling party, he added, “Rone dijiye. Khatam poora khatam.”

“All Hindus are united in favour of Narendra Modi... After four rounds of counting, the BJP is forming its government. Hindu EVMs mean BJP, Muslim EVMs mean TMC, except Malda, Murshidabad and North Dinajpur, where people have voted for Congress,” he added.

The state witnessed one of its highest voter turnouts in recent years, with 91.66 per cent polling in Phase II and 93.19 per cent in Phase I, taking the overall turnout to 92.47 per cent.

In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress had won a massive majority with 213 seats, while the BJP had secured 77 seats.

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