The counting of votes for the Assembly elections began in the four states - West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territory of Puducherry at 8 am on Sunday (May 2). While Assam and West Bengal saw multiple phases of polling, electors in Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu cast their votes in a single phase on April 6.
5 key contests to watch out for:
West Bengal: Nandigram
It is a battle of allies turned foes in Nandigram where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is pitted against the BJP's Suvendu Adhikari. Adhikari was a minister in Mamata government but joined the ranks of BJP in November 2020.
Assam: Jalukbari
Assam Health Minister in the state Himanta Biswa Sarma is contesting from Jalukbari for the fifth consecutive term and is pitted against Congress' Romen Ch Borthakur against Sarma.
Kerala: Konni
The hilly constituency of Konni is facing a fierce battle among BJP's state president K Surendran, sitting MLA KU Jenish Kumar of LDF and Robin Peter of UDF.
Tamil Nadu: Kolathur
In 2011, Stalin managed to barely win Kolathur, defeating his AIADMK rival by just 2,734 votes. Stalin won by a larger margin of over 36,000 votes in the 2016 election from Kolathur. In 2021, Stalin is facing Aadi Rajaram of AIADMK and J. Arumugham of AMMK.
Puducherry: Hyderabad Yanam
Geographically located in Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad Yanam is an important constituency with AINRC leader N Rangasamy is contesting from here. However, Rangasamy is expected to face a tough challenge from 35-year-old Gollapalli Ashok, who represents the Kapu community. Ashok had quit the BJP and is now contesting as an independent candidate with the Congress’ support.