News Analysis India

Tag: Bengal elections

  • Bengal poll observers meet state government officials, discuss law and order

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Special Observer for the West Bengal assembly elections Ajay Nayak and Special Police Observer Vivek Dubey on Wednesday met senior state government officials and discussed the issue of law and order ahead of the first phase of polling on March 27, a source in the CEO’s office said.

    During the meeting with Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and other officials, Nayak and Dubey sought full cooperation from the administration to conduct free and fair polls.

    The observers also met Home Secretary HK Dwidevi and DGP P Nirajnayan.

    “Law and order issue was discussed at the meeting. The ECI officials expressed their concern over the law and order situation in the state and sought total cooperation from the administration to hold fair and free elections,” the source said.

    The meeting was held a day after the Election Commission removed Virendra as the Director-General of Police of West Bengal.

    The commission also recently removed Jawed Shamim from the post of ADG (Law and Order).

    Nayak and Dubey reached the state last week and have been holding meetings with various authorities to oversee poll preparedness and take stock of the situation.

    The first phase of the elections will be held in 30 assembly constituencies in five districts – Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram and parts of Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur.

    The eight-phased elections to the 294 seats in West Bengal will be held between March 27 and April 29.

    Votes will be counted on May 2.

  • Bengal minister Bachchu Hansda, MLA Gouri Sankar Dutta join BJP after being denied poll ticket by TMC

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal minister Bachchu Hansda and Tehatta MLA Gouri Sankar Dutta joined the BJP on Wednesday after being denied nominations for the assembly polls by the Trinamool Congress.

    Hansda, the Minister of State for North Bengal Development, joined the BJP in presence of its state president Dilip Ghosh.

    He is a two-time MLA from the Tapan seat in the Dakshin Dinajpur district.

    Dutta, the MLA from Tehatta in Nadia, is a veteran politician.

    He also switched over to the BJP as defections continued to rock the ruling Trinamool Congress weeks ahead of the high-stakes election.

    Besides, Bengali actor Bonny Sengupta also joined the BJP.

    His close friend and actor Koushani Mukherjee recently joined the TMC and is a candidate from the Krishnanagar Uttar seat.

    TMC MP Pratima Mandal’s younger sister Jayanti also joined the BJP.

    Councillors of various municipalities and district- level leaders of TMC also switched sides with Dilip Ghosh handing them the party flag.

    Earlier this week, five TMC legislators, including four-time Satgachia MLA Sonali Guha and 89-year-old Singur MLA Rabindranath Bhattacharya, had switched over to the BJP after they were dropped by the ruling party from its candidate list.

    A total of 26 TMC MLAs and two MPs have switched over to the BJP since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

    However, except for the former state ministers Suvendu Adhikari and Rajib Banerjee, and Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Trivedi none of them gave up their memberships of assembly or Parliament.

  • Trinamool, Congress see red as Election Commission shunts out Bengal DGP

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The Central Election Commission on Tuesday axed the West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) Virendra and replaced him with Neeraj Nayan Pandey ahead of the high-voltage Assembly election contest in the state.

    It also directed the state government not to give Virendra any post that directly or indirectly relates to the conduct of elections.

    The change of guard came amid concerns of violence flagged by the BJP. 

    Till now, Pandey was the Additional Director General of Police (organisation), who was part of the CBI team that had probed the Taj corridor scam in 2002-2003 when he was on deputation.

    Earlier, the poll panel had removed Bengal’s additional director general of police (law and order).

    “The ECI is acting at the behest of the BJP. Virendra was an efficient officer. The removal of senior officials will not have an impact on poll result and the Trinamool is all set to retain power,” said Saugata Roy, the party’s MP and spokesperson.

    Echoing him, Congress Bengal president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the BJP’s trick to remove efficient officers would not provide electoral dividend in their favour.

    Bengal is set for a closely watched contest between the ruling Trinamool Congress and a surging BJP, which is hoping to win 200 of the state’s 294 seats.

    Elections will begin on March 27 and continue till April 29, making it the longest ever polls in the state. The results will be declared on May 2. 

    Comply by today, Chief Secretary told

    In its directive to the West Bengal chief secretary, the Election Commission said, “Kindly inform the commission about the compliance latest by 10 am tomorrow (Wednesday).”

  • Trinamool or BJP? As battle for ‘Poriborton’ heats up in Bengal, pollsters divided over outcome

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:   As the Bengal electoral battle heats up, pollsters are divided on whether the state will bring back ‘Didi’ or will see a saffron surge this time.

    Various pre-poll surveys have predicted different outcomes.

    While ABP-C-Voter and Times Now-C-Voter surveys have given edge to the ruling TMC, Hyderabad-based research agency People’s Pulse has predicted ‘comfortable’ win for the BJP. 

    The TMC is likely to retain power for the third consecutive term but with a slightly reduced majority, said the opinion polls conducted by Times Now and ABP in partnership with C-Voter.

    The Times Now survey projected 146-162 seats for Mamata’s party in the 294-member Assembly, down from the 211 seats it had won in 2016.

    People’s Pulse, on the other hand, said in its report ‘Mood for Poriborton: West Bengal’ that BJP is going to win quite comfortably, its organisational weaknesses notwithstanding. 

    The report predicted an edge for the BJP on nearly 160 seats, primarily on account of the  undercurrent of anti-incumbency sentiments running across the state of which the saffron party will be the default beneficiary.

    However, the surveys by the TV news channels predicted that the BJP, which had bagged just three seats in the last Assembly elections, will be the prime challenger to the TMC.

    As per the Times Now opinion poll, the saffron party is expected to grow in terms of the number of seats and vote percentage with a seat share between 99 and115.

    On the contrary, during the survey by People’s Pulse, the field narratives revealed an intense desire for change.

    “Therefore, issues like leadership, candidate profile, organisational presence or weaknesses don’t appear to reverse the dynamics that we witnessed until December 2020,” the report states.

    The report pointed out that as far as leadership factor is concerned, the relatively better image of the CM is eclipsed by the poor image of her party leaders. 

    “Her image won’t neutralise the bitterness that majority on the ground nurture on account of systematic battering by her regime. People’s everyday experience far outweighs the managerial effort by marketing agencies to manage politics…Bengal is witnessing the wind of change for sure,” the report concluded.

  • A day after PM’s Kolkata visit, Trinamool faces fresh spate of defections as it loses Malda Zilla Parishad

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Barely 72 hours after the Trinamool Congress announced the full list of candidates fielded in the upcoming Assembly elections, one of the contestants, in a bizarre move, joined the BJP on Monday along with the ruling party’s four other incumbent MLAs, who were denied tickets.

    The defection took place at the party’s Hastings election office in south Kolkata.

    Sarala Murmu was in the list announced by TMC supremo on Friday last week and was selected for the Habibpur Assembly constituency, reserved for a scheduled tribe candidate, in north Bengal’s Malda district.

    Sensing her defeat, Sarala decided to jump ship and join the BJP, sources in the TMC said.

    “Most of the TMC functionaries in the constituency where I was fielded have already joined the BJP. In the TMC, I was given a post but no work to do,” said Sarala.

    Noticing Sarala’s suspicious move on Sunday night, the TMC issued a statement announcing Pradip Baskey as the party’s new candidate and cited her health condition as the reason.

    “We anticipated Sarala’s move because she did not want to contest from Habibpur as she thought BJP’s victory is sure there. She wanted to contest from another seat which is Old Malda but the party refused,” said a TMC leader.

    Among others, four time MLA from Satgachia and once Mamata’s trusted colleague Sonali Guha, Singur’s octogenarian legislator Rabindranath Bhattacharya, Shibpur MLA Jatu Lahiri and footballer-turned lawmaker from Basirhat (Dakshin) Dipendu Biswas also joined the saffron camp.

    A number of ruling party’s functionaries from Malda zilla parishad and South Dum Dum municipality, too, shifted sides and came under the umbrella of the BJP.

    Bengali actress Tanushree Chakraborty also joined the BJP on Monday. 

    Bhattacharya and Lahiri were denied tickets as the party decided not to field octogenarian candidates in the upcoming poll and both of them come under the bracket of the age restriction.

    Trinamool also lost control of Malda zilla parishad.

    This was TMC’s second largest single-day exodus after political heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari along with 35 TMC leaders, including five MLAs and an MP, switched over to BJP December last year.

    The BJP took control of the 38-member Malda Zilla Parishad after its 23 members changed sides during the day.

    With Bhattacharya joining the saffron camp, TMC has lost both its prominent faces of the Singur and Nandigram anti-land acquisition movement to the saffron camp.

    The movement had catapulted TMC to power ending 34 years of Left Front rule in the state.

    Suvendu Adhikari will now take on Banerjee, his former mentor at Nandigram.

    BJP state president Dilip Ghosh handed the party flags to them during the day in the presence of Adhikari and the party’s national vice-president Mukul Roy.

    “The TMC is no longer a party of the masses. It has become a family-run party. Honest people have no place in the TMC,” Bhattacharya said.

    Guha, who had broken down immediately after getting news of her omission from the list of candidates of TMC released on Friday, said her former party had tried to speak to her.

    “But I was no longer interested. I had given more than a hundred per cent to TMC. Didi (Banerjee) and others know that very well. I will now devote myself equally to the BJP in whichever way they use me,” she said.

    Murmu, who is known to be a Adhikari loyalist, hit out at TMC saying it does not have an atmosphere to work for the masses.

    Actor Tanusree Chakraborty also joined the BJP.

    Reacting to Monday’s exodus, senior TMC leader Sougata Roy said it showed that the defecting TMC leaders do not have any moral values and are only hungry for posts.

    “It’s a good riddance. Just because these leaders were not given tickets, they quit TMC,” Roy said.

    An elated BJP said the “beginning of the end of TMC has already begun” and the party will disintegrate soon.

    “It is only a matter of time before TMC disintegrates. Those who want to fight against TMC should join us,” Ghosh said.

    He, however, said it is not necessary that those who have joined BJP will be given tickets for the coming assembly polls.

    Since the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when the BJP bagged 18 seats, just four less than the ruling TMC and emerged as its main challenger in Bengal, 24 MLAs of the Trinamool Congress, two TMC MP, three belonging to the Congress and the CPI(M) each and one from CPI has crossed over to the saffron camp.

    However, except for the former state cabinet ministers – Suvendu Adhikari, Rajib Banerjee and Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Trivedi none of them resigned as MLAs or MP.

    Election for 294-seat Bengal Assembly is poised to be a stiff contest between the TMC and the BJP.

    The election will be held in eight phases, beginning with polling for 30 seats on March 27.

    Votes will be counted on May 2.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Bengal polls: It’s a fight between me and BJP in all 294 seats, says Mamata

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday hinted that the upcoming Assembly elections are going to be a battle between ‘Didi versus Modi’.

    “He came to Kolkata and spread lies and canards. I appeal to the people of Bengal to consider me as the candidate in all 294 Assembly constituencies. Vote for my candidates and secure their victory,” said Mamata while addressing a rally after leading a march in central Kolkata on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

    Asserting that her party will retain power for the third consecutive time in the state, the TMC supremo said, “It’s the fight between me and the BJP in all 294 seats.”

    Taking a dig at Modi over the inclusion of his picture in the Covid-19 vaccination certificate, Mamata said the day was not far when the country will be named after him.

    “The Prime Minister has named a stadium after him. A photograph of him has been displayed on the Covid-19 vaccination certificate. A day will come when the country will be named after him,” Mamata lashed out at the PM, a day after his Kolkata visit to address a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground.     

    In an attempt to woo women electorates’ support in the upcoming Assembly elections, Mamata walked a stretch of the road along with some of the women candidates of her party. “One day, Bengal’s daughters will lead the state. I appeal to the women electorates to vote for our women candidates,” she said.

    Alleging how women are unsafe in BJP-ruled states, Mamata said in the “model state” Gujarat, according to media reports, four rapes and two killings have been taking place daily over the past two years.   

    Rubbishing Modi’s claim that women do not feel safe in Bengal, Mamata, replied, “Had that been the case, women wouldn’t have been able to roam freely at night.”

  • ‘Poribortan will happen in Delhi instead of Bengal’: Mamata hits back at PM as she protests LPG price hike

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  Hitting back at the BJP over its allegation of “syndicate raj” in West Bengal under the TMC rule, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home minister Amit Shah are part of a “syndicate”.

    “Modi and Shah are the only syndicate in India. Look at the increase in fuel prices. Covid pandemic happened but the PM  was nowhere to be found. You get free rice but you spent on expensive gas to cook it,” said Banerjee while organising a protest march against the steep hike in the price of LPG cylinders at Siliguri. Mamata was accompanied by her Cabinet colleague Chandrima Bhttacharya and MPs Mimi Chakrabarty and Nusrat Jahan.

    West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leads a protest rally againstthe hike in fuel and LPG prices, in Siliguri on Sunday | PTI

    ALSO READ | Bengal polls: Actor Mithun Chakraborty joins BJP ahead of PM Modi’s Brigade rally

    Launching a fresh tirade against Modi, Banerjee alleged that the PM was peddling lies to mislead the electorates in the poll-bound state. “He (Modi) has made many false promises over the years and the people of Bengal no longer trust him. Why the PM has not deposited  `15 lakh to the bank accounts of every citizen as promised by him before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. You have made many empty promises and people will not accept your false words every day. You have made the LPG cylinders inaccessible to common people,” she lashed out.

    Asking people to raise their voice against the “riot- mongering BJP,” Banerjee said, “People of Bengal, who had been living in peace casting aside barriers of community and language, would come under grave threat if the saffron party comes to power.” The protest march is said to be TMC’s effort to woo women homemakers. “Since the homemakers take care of kitchens, the price hike of LPG has directly affected them. To portray herself as a voice of the homemakers, she took three women party colleagues with her in the event,’’ said a TMC leader.

  • ‘Vote for BJP fearlessly, vote against bad governance’: PM attacks Mamata at Brigade rally

    By Online Desk
    KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday launched a blistering attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of “betraying and insulting” the people of the state who trusted she will bring about a change after the Left rule.

    He also accused her of nepotism by choosing to play the limited role of “bua” (aunt) to her “bhatija” (nephew) instead of becoming “Didi” (elder sister) to the people.

    Addressing a massive BJP rally at the Brigade Parade Grounds, his first in West Bengal after the announcement of assembly polls, Modi hit out at his detractors who accuse him of favouring a handful of his businessmen friends.

    “The dream of ‘sonar bangla’ will be fulfilled. Today, I have come here today to assure you of Bengal’s development, to increase investment here, to protect Bengal’s culture and to bring change,” he said during the Brigade rally at Kolkata.

    “The next 25 years are very important for the development of Bengal. The development here in the next 5 years will lay the foundation for State’s development in the next 25 years,” he added further.

    “In this Assembly elections, there are TMC, Left and Congress, and their anti-Bengal attitude on a side. On the other side, there are people of Bengal. Bengal wants ‘shanti’, ‘sonar Bangla’, ‘pragatisheel Bangla’. This Brigade Parade Ground has been witness to many great leaders and also witnessed those who have disrupted West Bengal’s progress. People of Bengal never left their hopes for change,” he said.

    #WATCH | You are well aware of the condition of ‘Maa, Manush, Maati’. Mothers are being attacked on streets and in their houses. Recently, the cruelty unleashed on an 80-year-old mother has shown their cruel face to the entire country: PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/OHEXCTlt3L
    — ANI (@ANI) March 7, 2021

    “You know it very well how the democratic system has been destroyed here. BJP will strengthen this system. We will bring the change to re-establish public belief in govt systems, in the police, and the administration,” he said while attacking the Mamata Banerjee-led state government over the state’s deterioting law and order.

    “I have come here to make you believe that we’ll work hard for farmers, businessmen and the development of sisters and daughters. We will live every moment to fulfill your dreams,” he added further.

    ALSO READ | Always felt at home in Bengal: Gambhir ahead of joining BJP campaign in poll-bound state

    “They made promises to work for ‘Maa, maati, manush’. But you tell me, has TMC been able to bring change in the lives of common people here in the last 10 years? The people of Bengal had chosen you as ‘Didi’ but then why did you remain the aunt of a nephew? The people of Bengal are asking only this one question from you,” Modi said while lashing out at Mamata.

    #WATCH | Your (Mamata Banerjee’s) scooty took a turn towards Nandigram instead of going to Bhawanipore. Didi, I wish everyone well and don’t want anyone hurt. But what can I do if the scooty is destined to fall in Nandigram?: PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/OycJdytWNk
    — ANI (@ANI) March 7, 2021

    “You have betrayed and insulted the people of Bengal who trusted that you will be the harbinger of change after the end of the Left rule. You smashed to smithereens (chaknachoor) their hopes and dreams,” he said, excoriating the TMC supremo.

    He alleged Banerjee promoted nepotism while neglecting the people who fondly called her ‘Didi’.

    “Bengal chose you in role of ‘Didi’ but you preferred being ‘bua’ to your ‘bhatija’,” he said.

    “Some days back, when you rode a scooty, everyone was praying that you are not hurt. It is good that you didn’t fall, otherwise, you would have made enemy the state where the scooty was manufactured. Your scooty took a turn towards Nandigram instead of going to Bhawanipore. Didi, I wish everyone well and don’t want anyone hurt. But what can I do if the scooty is destined to fall in Nandigram?,” he said.

    The BJP has been accusing Banerjee of trying to install her nephew and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek as the next chief minister.

    Hitting back at rival leaders like former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Banerjee, who often accuse him of favouring his industrialist friends, Modi said given his humble background he valued friendship.

    “All 130 crore people of India are my friends, I work for them. I gave 90 lakh gas connections to my friends of Bengal. I have special affinity with tea, and the tea garden workers of Bengal are my friends for whom I have implemented a social security scheme,” he said.

    “TMC ka khela khatam, vikas shuru…vote for BJP fearlessly, vote against bad governance. These people are experienced people and play a lot! They have done innumerable corruption and looted the people of Bengal. They have even looted the relief money sent for Amphan,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Kolkata drug seizure case: BJP leader Rakesh Singh’s aide arrested

    “I have known Didi since ages. She is not the same person who raised her voice against the Left. She speaks someone else’s language now and is being controlled,” Modi said while attacking the Bengal CM.

    “Tolabaazi, syndicate, commission cut! You have done so many scams that a ‘Corruption Olympics’ game can be organized. You have played with the hard-earned money of the people and their lives,” he said.

    “You’ve pushed Bengal towards separation instead of development, and thus the lotus is blooming. You’ve divided people on religious lines, and thus the lotus is blooming,” the PM added.

    Modi has often spoken about how he used to sell tea at a railway station and on trains as a small boy.

    He also attacked Banerjee for triggering the insider- outsider debate.

    “When those believing in Marx and Lenin and a party like the TMC, an offshoot of the Congress, are parties of insiders, how the BJP, for whose foundation Syama Prasad Mookerjee was the source of inspiration, can be a party of outsiders,” he said.

    The prime minister said he was committed to bringing about “asol parivartan” (real change) in West Bengal where all sections of people progress but nobody is appeased, and infiltration is stopped.

    “Be it North Bengal or South Bengal, ordinary people or refugees. All will progress but nobody will be appeased. Infiltration will be stopped completely,” he asserted, reaffirming his commitment to the Mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas’.

    Accusing the TMC government of destroying the democratic system, he alleged ‘loktantra’ (democracy) was replaced with ‘lootantra’ (systematic plunder) in the 10 years of its rule.

    “Lotus is about to bloom in Bengal because of the ‘kichad’ (muck) created by you, Didi,” he said.

    (With ANI and PTI Inputs)

  • ‘Modi has time to address rally in Bengal, but can’t meet protesting farmers’: Pawar lashes out at PM

    Express News Service
    RANCHI: Making a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar said that the former has time to visit foreign Countries and address rallies in West Bengal, but has no time to visit farmers at the Delhi borders who have been protesting for the last 100 days. 

    Addressing the State level workers conference in Ranchi on Sunday, Pawar also alleged that the BJP is spreading “communal poison” in the country.

    “The farmers have been protesting on Delhi borders for the last 100 days, but the Prime Minister, who has time to visit foreign Countries, address rally in West Bengal, has no time for the farmers who have been protesting merely 20 kilometers from his official residence,” said Pawar.

    Later, talking to the media persons, the NCP Chief also hinted on supporting Mamata Banerjee in the upcomming Bengal polls.

    “Though, we used to contest on some of the seats in West Bengal, but the way BJP is targeting Mamta Banerjee, we are mulling on supporting her in the upcomming Assembly elections. Party workers have opined that the centre is misusing its power to defeat Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal and hence it is high time that she may be lent support,” said Pawar. 

    They are mulling not to field their candidates in Bengal and support her in the upcomming elections, he added.

    Pawar further added that ‘communal poison’ is being spread in most of the states and prices of which are being paid by the poor and people of minority communities.

    Taking a dig at BJP, Pawar said that the centre is taking help from AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi to win elections.

    “The ruling party at the centre, in order to divide votes, always takes help of others and Asaduddin Owaisi is one of them,” said Pawar.

    The NCP chief alleged that the Central government is using central agencies to suppress the voices of Opposition in non-BJP ruled States.

    “The way the Prime Minister, Home Minister and other top leaders of BJP have launched a campaign against the governments of West Bengal and other non-BJP ruled states by misusing the central agencies like CBI and ED, it is a serious issue and all of us must think about it,” said Pawar.

    The NCP Chief said that his party will expand its base in Jharkhand in the coming days.

  • Will Hemant Soren ditch Congress to campaign for Mamata? JMM to decide soon

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has been requested by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to campaign for her in the West Bengal Assembly elections and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha will take a decision on this soon keeping in mind the objective of giving a pushback to the BJP’s poll prospects, a senior JMM leader said on Sunday.

    The development assumes significance as the JMM is an alliance government with the Congress in Jharkhand and the Sonia Gandhi-led party has tied up with the Left and the Indian Secular Front in West Bengal against the BJP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

    After the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Samajwadi Party and the Shiv Sena, Banerjee had said last week that the TMC has received support from the JMM and the Nationalist Congress Party for the assembly polls.

    In West Bengal, communication keeps happening with Mamata Banerjee as being in neighbouring states, issues are regularly discussed, a senior JMM leader said on condition of anonymity.

    “It was our demand that some regions of West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha should have been made part of Jharkhand as they had been part of the movement for the state, but in 2000 the borders that were created, some areas were left out,” the leader said.

    “As a result, you would see that in West Bengal’s tea gardens, a majority of the people are from Jharkhand. So, we do have an influence there,” the leader said.

    The TMC chief has asked the Jharkhand chief minister to campaign for her, the JMM leader said, adding that party chief Shibu Soren has been informed about the request.

    The leader said a decision will soon be taken on it by the party.

    “But the target is fixed that the BJP has to be given a pushback there and a decision will be taken keeping that in mind,” the leader said.

    The JMM leader also slammed the Centre on various issues such as high fuel prices, farm laws and treatment meted out to farmers.

    The leader also alleged that it seems cooperative federalism is left only on name.

    Significantly, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav had also thrown his party’s weight behind Banerjee and appealed to Biharis domiciled in West Bengal to rally behind the chief minister in the elections.

    RJD is also part of the Jharkhand government headed by Hemant Soren.

    Elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in eight phases from March 27 to April 29.

    Votes will be counted on May 2.