NEW DELHI: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has emerged victorious in all four Assembly bypoll held in West Bengal, solidifying its stronghold in the state. The results, announced on Saturday, July 13, saw TMC candidates triumphing convincingly over their rivals from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left-Congress alliance, who suffered setbacks by losing deposits in three out of the four constituencies.
In the Maniktala constituency, located in Kolkata, TMC candidate Supti Pande secured a resounding victory with a margin of 62,312 votes over BJP’s Kalyan Chaubey. Similarly, in the Raiganj constituency in North Dinajpur district, TMC’s Krishna Kalyani won by a substantial margin of 50,077 votes against BJP’s Mamas Kumar. In Ranaghat-Dakshin constituency in Nadia district, TMC’s Mukut Mani Adhikari emerged victorious with 39,048 votes more than BJP’s Manoj Kumar Biswas. Meanwhile, in the Bagdah constituency in North 24 Parganas district, TMC’s Madhuparna Thakur clinched the seat with a margin of 33,455 votes ahead of BJP’s Binay Kumar Biswas.
Describing the bypoll results as a resounding success, TMC asserted that the people of Bengal had decisively rejected the BJP, echoing a sentiment previously seen in the state’s Lok Sabha elections. TMC leader Kunal Ghosh dismissed allegations of electoral irregularities raised by the BJP, labeling them as attempts to deflect from their electoral failures.
The bypoll, which recorded a turnout of approximately 63%, was marked by contrasting narratives from the contesting parties. While TMC hailed the elections as peaceful and transparent, BJP claimed that the ruling party engaged in malpractices such as booth rigging and fraudulent voting.
These results come just a month after TMC’s impressive performance in the Lok Sabha elections, where they secured 29 seats, significantly improving upon their 2019 tally of 22 seats. In contrast, BJP, which has been aiming to expand its footprint in the state, faced setbacks in the bypoll, prompting the party to announce introspection into their electoral strategy.
The constituencies had become vacant due to various reasons, including the resignation of BJP MLAs who later contested on TMC tickets during the recent Lok Sabha polls. The victory in Maniktala was particularly poignant as it followed the demise of TMC stalwart Sadhan Pande, necessitating the bypoll.
Overall, the outcome of these by-elections underscores TMC’s continued dominance in West Bengal’s political landscape and sets the stage for heightened political dynamics in the run-up to future electoral contests in the state.