First Person: Mamata Banerjee vs Suvendu Adhikari, From The Counting Centre

Security personnel had been deployed across every inch of the premises.

05 May 2026, 18:24 · www.ndtv.com

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The counting centre in Bhabanipur had made headlines earlier as well
Security personnel had been deployed across every inch of the premises
Banerjee was leading initially, but Adhikari eventually won

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Kolkata:

Bhabanipur, widely regarded as the epicentre of the entire West Bengal election, was locked in a challenging contest. Here, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee was facing a challenge from her one-time lieutenant turned BJP leader, Suvendu Adhikari.

On Monday, when the votes were scheduled to be counted, we arrived at the counting centre at Sakhawat Memorial Girls' School, where the result of the battle was set to be revealed. This counting centre had already made headlines because, just days ago, Banerjee had made a sudden, unannounced visit there and alleged that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) had been tampered with. She also claimed that the CCTV cameras at the facility had been switched off.

It was for this very reason that security personnel had been deployed across every inch of the premises. In addition to central security forces, personnel from the Kolkata Police, the Rapid Action Force (RAF), and the Border Security Force (BSF) were also present. Accompanied by my camera colleague, I arrived as early as 5 am, hoping to witness history in the making.

At that hour, dawn was just breaking over Kolkata and the tension in the atmosphere was palpable. Everyone was on edge - the security personnel, the media, and the candidates' agents alike. Everyone seemed to be bickering with the personnel, who, in their zeal to exercise extra caution, were being perhaps a bit too strict.

Arguments, Debate

Eventually, after some back-and-forth, a consensus was reached, and the media contingent was positioned at a distance of 100 metres from the school building. The counting began at 8 am and the initial trends started trickling in shortly after that.

We were monitoring these trends on television screens set up specifically for the media. Even there, a debate initially broke out among journalists regarding which channel to watch - a national news channel or a Bengali regional channel? Ultimately, it was decided to stick to a Bengali channel.

Along with results from various other constituencies, trends from Bhabanipur also began to appear.

After every round, the vote tally was announced over the loudspeakers installed at the venue.

In the early stages, Mamata Banerjee took the lead and, at one point, she had secured 25,942 votes, while Suvendu Adhikari was trailing with 9,236.

The vote counting was proceeding slowly, and everyone was growing restless when, suddenly, a flurry of activity broke out as news spread that Suvendu Adhikari was about to arrive.

Soon after he entered the counting centre, agents from certain parties were seen leaving. The journalists rushed after them and were told that the counting of votes had halted. Agents from the Trinamool Congress also emerged, accusing the BJP leader of forcibly evicting them. The atmosphere at the counting centre grew tense, and arguments broke out between BJP and Trinamool agents.

Mamata Banerjee Arrives

By the time all this unfolded, evening had fallen. Just then, a buzz went through the crowd that Mamata Banerjee was arriving. As she entered the building, a silence descended outside. Exhausted media and security personnel sat on the road. The announcements over the loudspeakers also ceased.

Inside the counting centre, only Banerjee and Adhikari remained. Suddenly, a vehicle drove into the counting centre; it turned out that the District Election Officer had arrived. Everyone felt a sense of relief, believing that a resolution would now be found and the counting would resume.

However, shortly after 8 pm, Banerjee emerged and accused Adhikari of physical assault.

As soon as she left, the counting of votes resumed. The trends began to shift in favour of Adhikari and, after the final round, he emerged victorious by a margin of over 15,000 votes, repeating his 2021 success in Nandigram.

After his victory was announced, Adhikari denied Banerjee's allegations and thanked Hindu voters for his victory. He also extended his gratitude to CPM voters, claiming that he secured 10,000 votes from that bloc too.

Around 10 pm, exhausted after working for 15-16 hours, journalists began their return journey, exchanging banter about their experience. And as we emerged onto the main road while leaving the counting centre, we observed that the streets of Kolkata were echoing with chants of 'Jai Shri Ram'.

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