West Bengal elections have emerged a huge draw for Satta Bazar , the illegal punters market in India.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah sweating it out for the BJP in the State, punters are betting crores of rupees on a victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party there. Going by the odds, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) may not cross 115-120 seats in the 294-seat Assembly.
Odds on the BJP winning 140 seats are stacked at 0.22 paise over every rupee. Simply put, those betting ₹1 on the BJP winning 140 seats stand to take home ₹1.22. To form a government in Bengal requires 147 seats. The odds of the BJP winning 145 are placed at 0.62 paise and 150 is at ₹1 (even bet).
The TMC’s odds of winning 115 seats are placed at ₹1.30 over a bet of every rupee. Bookies are not giving more seats to the TMC than this and, hence, they are giving out the odds for this, a New Delhi-based source told
Heated campaign
“Modi addressing 20 rallies and Shah 50 in less than a month in Bengal... In such a heated campaign, bookies believe they will lose their shirt if they predict a TMC majority. Inside Bengal, people are betting big money on the BJP, which tells you the way the wind is blowing,” the bookie said.
Elections are being held in five States. The Satta Bazar odds show that BJP by itself or in alliance could emerge victorious in three. Bookies expect their betting turnover to cross ₹25,000 crore in all States combined. Punters are betting on a BJP win in Assam and Puducherry.
In Tamil Nadu, the DMK-Congress alliance is expected to form the government and the incumbent Left Democratic Front is expected to retain power in Kerala.