TMC sweeps Bengal bypolls, wins both Ballygunge Assembly, Asansol Lok Sabha seats

After a high-octane political battle, Trinamool Congress (TMC) won the Ballygunge Assembly seat and the Asansol Lok Sabha seat in the West Bengal bypolls, the Election Commission said on Saturday. Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha won the Asansol Lok Sabha bypoll for the TMC, outsmarting his nearest rival, BJP’s Agnimitra Paul, by a huge margin of 3,03,209 votes. Sinha bagged 6,56,358 votes while Paul managed to garner 3,53,149, according to Election Commission website. CPI(M)’s Partha Mukherjee pocketed 90,412 votes and Prasenjit Puitandy of the Congress collected 15,035, it said. Meanwhile, TMC candidate for Ballygunge Assembly Babul Supriyo won the bypolls securing 51,199 votes while CPIM’s Saira Shah Halim came the second with 30,971 votes. BJP’s Keya Ghosh came the distant third with 13,220 votes. He dedicated the win to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. TMC secured 49.69 per cent vote share while CPIM got 30.06 per cent votes. BJP’s vote share remained just 12.83 per cent. Earlier he said, “I’m leading, along with that Shatrughan Sinha is leading as well. Didi (Mamata Banerjee) guided us to work at grassroots levels. I dedicate my win to CM Mamata Banerjee and Ma-Mati-Manush. BJP’s position shows the effect of fuel price hike.” He added that the election outcome is a “slap” on the BJP. “The Opposition stooped very low during the campaign. This result is a ’tamacha’ (slap) on the BJP for the way they demean Bengalis. This trend is the result of the hard work of TMC workers,” the TMC leader said. Notably, Supriyo, a two-time BJP MP, quit the ruling party at the Centre last year. The Asansol Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after he had resigned. The Ballygunge Assembly seat bypoll was necessitated after the demise of state minister Subrata Mukherjee. Banerjee visited the Kalighat temple in Kolkata after the results. Meanwhile, TMC workers and supporters celebrated to the tunes of drumbeats following the victory.

Speaking to ANI, Agnimitra Paul said, “There were some shortcomings from our end because of which we had to face defeat. The public’s verdict will be accepted. Few cases of rigging were seen at some places but central forces worked really well. We will work at grassroots levels in the forthcoming days”.

Reacting to Supriyo’s win from Ballygunge, she said, “Babul Supriyo’s victory in Ballygunge was predictable, Keya Ghosh has put up a big fight. We urge police, administration, and the Election Commission to keep a check on violence in the state. Post-poll violence should not take place in West Bengal.”

Polling was held in Asansol on April 12.

With input from ANI

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