Bengal Bypoll Results: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has emerged victorious in all four seats in the recent West Bengal Assembly bypolls, further consolidating its dominance in the state. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her gratitude to the people for this victory, highlighting that her party reclaimed three seats previously held by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and retained one of their own.
The BJP, however, alleged irregularities in the bypolls. West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar claimed, "The ruling party usually has an advantage in by-elections. The way the results have come, BJP has got three votes in some booths, and four votes in some booths. This is fraud in the name of votes. We have complained to the Election Commission earlier also but there was no hearing", news agency ANI reported
CM Mamata Banerjee, speaking to reporters in Kolkata after her visit to Mumbai, said, "Among the four seats, three were held by the BJP, both in the Lok Sabha and in the Vidhan Sabha. We have won all three and held on to our seat as well. That means four out of four. I express my gratitude to our people for this victory."
Thanking her supporters, the TMC supremo remarked, "We are dedicating our victory in the Lok Sabha polls and Vidhan Sabha polls to July 21. Despite all conspiracies, on one hand the BJP and on the other hand the agencies, people have voted for us."
According to ANI, regarding the Raiganj assembly bypoll, Banerjee noted, "BJP and Congress made us lose from Raiganj by using money in polls. Then I asked Krishna Kalyani to contest the polls because he was the MLA from the region. He accepted the challenge and we are grateful to people for voting him to power."
Banerjee also discussed the Ranaghat assembly bypoll, stating, "Mukut Mani was a BJP MLA like Krishna Kalyani. After he joined our party, we gave him a ticket. He lost the Lok Sabha polls from Ranaghat maybe due to false campaigning, hatred, and conspiracy by the Election Commission. But he has won the Assembly bypoll this time. He was a BJP MLA. Ranaghat is a BJP seat that has now been won by the TMC."
In Bagdah, TMC fielded their youngest candidate, Madhuparna Thakur, daughter of Mamatabala Thakur. "Madhuparna has given a tough fight. People over there supported us and she has won," Banerjee said, as quoted by ANI.
In a broader national context, the Bengal Chief Minister commented, "I have heard that BJP has fallen back all over the country. I think they have managed to win in two seats in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where they are in power. I do not know what they have done there. In the rest of the seats, they have not won. So the trend all over India is against BJP."
On the future of the BJP-led NDA at the Centre, Banerjee added, "The trend is very clear. The mandate is not in favour of NDA, it is in favour of INDIA. It is not in favour of BJP. I may be wrong. But I heard that they (NDA) collectively got 46 per cent votes. INDIA has got 51 per cent votes. So the mandate is against them."
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TMC's Tally In 294-Member Assembly Stands At 215
Despite the BJP’s claims, TMC's Supti Pandey won the Maniktala assembly bypoll, defeating BJP's Kalyan Chaubey. The bypoll results demonstrated TMC’s strengthened position, improving on its 2021 assembly election performance and swinging votes significantly in its favour since the recent Lok Sabha elections.
With the latest victories, the TMC's tally in the 294-member assembly stands at 215, with the BJP's official count reduced to 71 from 77 in 2021. Reacting to the results, BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya alleged, "The ruling party had unleashed a reign of terror", news agency PTI reported
Countering these allegations, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said, "The people have rejected the BJP in the last Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal and the same thing has happened in the bypolls. The allegation that by-polls were not free and fair are just excuses to hide their own failures."