Asansol Lok Sabha Election Results 2024 LIVE: Shatrughan Sinha leads with over 36,000 votes; BJP's magic man SS Ahluwalia trails

Asansol Lok Sabha Election Results 2024 LIVE:  Shatrughan Sinha of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is leading from Asansol by a margin of more than 36,900 votes. Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) magic man SS Ahluwalia is trailing from the Lok Sabha Constituency at present, as per the data posted by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The constituency is well-known for its substantial impact on Indian politics, establishing itself as a political powerhouse. For this constituency, the election was successfully held on May 13. The voter turnout was 73.27%.

The main contenders for Lok Sabha elections are Trinamool Congress' Shatrughan Sinha, Bharatiya Janata Party's SS Ahluwalia, and Communist Party of India (Marxist) Jahanara Khan.

Exit polls

Most of the exit polls have predicted that the BJP will get more seats than the TMC in the state. The India Today-My Axis exit poll has predicted a significant increase in saffron seats in the state, with BJP projected to win 26 to 31 seats, while TMC may secure 11 to 14 seats. The poll also forecast a rise in BJP's SC/ST and OBC vote share.

 

ABP News-CVoter poll predicted hat the BJP is likely to get 23-27 seats in West Bengal whereas the TMC is expected to get 13-17 seats. The Congress, on the other, hand, is likely to get 1-3 seats. The Jan Ki Baat survey predicted 21-26 seats for the BJP and 16-18 for the TMC. Republic TV's PMARQ survey predicted 22 seats for the BJP and 20 for the TMC. 

Top candidates

The ruling Trinamool Congress chose Bollywood veteran actor and politician Shatrughan Sinha as their candidate from this constituency. Earlier, its candidate was actress Moon Moon Sen. Sinha, who has a strong political background, having served as a Lok Sabha MP from Patna Sahib and a Rajya Sabha member.  He has also been a member of the Rajya Sabha and also served as Union Cabinet Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Shipping in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

He was previously associated with the Indian National Congress after BJP denied a ticket to him. He joined TMC in 2022 and won the by-election in Asansol against the BJP candidate.

Bharatiya Janata Party chose two-time MP, Surendrajeet Singh Ahluwalia after its first choice Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh opted out of the contest. Pawan Singh's withdrawal and the ongoing ambiguity regarding the party's candidate has placed the BJP in a challenging position, causing considerable embarrassment in what was until recently considered one of its strongholds. Ahluwalia represented Darjeeling. Prior to 2014 general elections, he has also represented Jharkhand and Bihar.  He joined the BJP in 1999.

Ahluwalia served as Minister of State for Urban Affairs and Employment and Parliamentary Affairs in the P V Narasimha Rao cabinet.

Jahanara Khan, representing the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has successfully secured the Jamuria Assembly constituency seat in both the 2016 and 2011 elections. It is noteworthy that this particular Assembly constituency forms a segment of the larger Asansol Lok Sabha constituency.

2019 Lok Sabha polls

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Babul Supriyo of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in the Asansol constituency by securing 633,378 votes. Moon Moon Sen from the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) was the runner-up, with Supriyo achieving a substantial margin of victory amounting to 197,637 votes. Subsequently, Babul Supriyo departed from BJP and aligned himself with AITC. In the ensuing by-elections, Shatrughan Sinha successfully claimed the seat.

2014 Lok Sabha elections

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Babul Supriyo Baral of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a decisive victory in the Asansol constituency by obtaining 419,983 votes. His closest competitor was Dola Sen from the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). The winning margin was an impressive 1,469,684 votes.

Issues and elections

The principal issues in the upcoming Asansol election include the reopening of shuttered factories, tackling drinking water shortages in rural areas, and curbing illegal mining activities in disused collieries. Asansol shares a border with Jharkhand and has a substantial Hindi-speaking population, predominantly comprising migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh employed in local mines and factories.