The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said that trends released by the Election Commission of India in West Bengal indicate a strong wave in its favour, asserting that the people of the state are making their voice heard by "defeating fear".
The remarks came as the BJP was leading in 185 Assembly seats across the state, while the Trinamool Congress was ahead in 91 seats, according to ECI trends available at around 1 p.m., pointing to a significant gap between the two parties.
Reacting to the early trends, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said that both exit polls and counting trends were indicating a similar outcome. "The signals given by the exit polls and the trends that are coming are pointing in the same direction -- that there is a wave of nationalism in Bengal.
The trends will soon turn into results, and the wave will take the form of a tsunami," he told IANS. He further said, "The conduct of these polls in a peaceful, fair and free manner, under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, HM Amit Shah, Suvendu Adhikari and Samik Bhattacharya, and all others, is a sign of revolution."
BJP national spokesperson Rohan Gupta also expressed confidence that the trends would solidify further in the party's favour. "The trends will be consolidated in favour of the BJP, and this is not a wave but a tsunami. This is the voice of the people of West Bengal.
As Prime Minister Modi said, the people of West Bengal are fighting a battle for freedom. Today, together with the BJP, the voice of the people of West Bengal has won," he said. "I believe this is the people's victory. I would especially like to thank the people of West Bengal for achieving this victory by defeating fear.
People were suppressed by fear, and this time they voted for the change; they had had enough. The BJP will fulfil all aspirations of the people of the state," he added. Another party spokesperson, Rajiv Jaitley, said the trends signal a major political shift in the state.
"The vanvaas of the people of Bengal is finally coming to an end. The people never wanted the Trinamool Congress to win; they knew that if TMC won, they would not let people live in Bengal. The BJP, on its own strength, is leading in Bengal now," he told IANS.