Bhabanipur Bypoll: BJP Picks Priyanka Tibrewal As Opponent For West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

The announcement comes as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee filed her nomination to the Bhabanipur seat today.

Priyanka Tibrewal | CM Mamata Banerjee (File Photo)

New Delhi: BJP has chosen Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Vice-President Priyanka Tibrewal as their candidate to contest from Bhabanipur seat against West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

Besides this, the saffron party has fielded Milan Ghosh from Samserganj and Sujit Das from Jangipur. BJP confirmed their candidature through a press release.

The announcement came ahead of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee filing her nomination to the Bhabanipur seat today.

Who Is Priyanka Tibrewal?

Priyanka Tibrewal joined the BJP in August 2014. She earlier worked as the legal adviser of Babul Supriyo and forayed into politics with his help.

In August 2020, she was made the vice president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in West Bengal. 

She contested from Entally in the assembly election this year and lost to TMC candidate Swarna Kamal Saha with a margin of 58,257 votes. Currently, she is also BJP's national spokesperson.

As per PTI, Tibrewal, a lawyer by profession, is one of the petitioners in the post-poll violence cases against the TMC government in the Calcutta High Court.

Bhabanipur Bypoll

Following a massive electoral win for a third consecutive term in May this year, the bypoll will be crucial for CM Mamata Banerjee as the supremo has to win a seat in the state assembly by November 5 in line with the constitutional provisions to continue as chief minister.

Bhabanipur or Bhawanipore, is Mamata's home turf, from where she created history by bringing down the curtain on the 34-year uninterrupted rule of the CPM-led Left Front . Mamata Banerjee won from Bhabanipur in 2011 and 2016.

A non-member of a state legislature or Parliament can continue in a ministerial position for six months according to the constitutional provision.

The upcoming bypoll will give Mamata a chance to become a member of the state assembly after she lost the contest to Nandigram to protege turned opposition leader Suvendhu Adhikari.

The byelection in Bhabanipur Assembly Constituency will be held on September 30, as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The Election Commission also said by-polls will also be held in Samserganj and Jangipur of West Bengal and Pipli constituency of Odisha on the same date.

The counting of votes will be taken up on October 3. In May, the West Bengal Agriculture Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay vacated the Bhabanipur assembly seat paving way for the chief minister to contest from Bhabanipur seat.