India, May 4 -- The closely-watched electoral battle between BJP's Suvendu Adhikari and Trinamool Congress chief went down to the wire Monday, ending in the former breaching the TMC stronghold.

Adhikari, in what seemed to be a reiteration of the 2021 Nandigram electoral battle, defeated incumbent Bengal chief minister Mamata by a margin of over 15,000 votes.

The BJP candidate, who took a lead after several rounds of counting were complete, polled over 67,000 votes in the high-stakes contest. The dramatic shift in the constituency played out even as the early lead taken by Mamata was overturned in the last rounds of counting of votes.

Overall, the BJP swept the polls in West Bengal, securing over 200 seats in the state, while the TMC wa...