West Bengal bypolls: TMC chief Mamata Banerjee to contest Bhabanipur by-election on 30 Sept

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress Sunday officially announced Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as its candidate for the by-election in Bhabanipur. TMC’s campaign in the seat in south Kolkata is already underway with the Election Commission announcing the bypoll on Saturday, following a request from the state government to avoid a constitutional crisis. Mamata, who lost the election in Nandigram, has to win this by-poll to retain her chief minister’s post. The BJP, Congress, and CPM-led Left Front are yet to announce their candidates for the bypoll. The bypoll will be held on 30 September along with the elections to two seats in the Murshidabad district - Samserganj and Jangipur where polling could not be held during the eight-phase assembly elections earlier this year. The counting of votes will take place on 3 October. Jakir Hossain is the TMC candidate in the Jangipur seat, while Amirul Islam is contesting as the party’s candidate from Samserganj. Veteran politician Sovandeb Chattopadhyay stepped down as the TMC MLA of Bhabanipur, allowing Banerjee a chance to become a member of the state legislative Assembly by fighting the bypoll. Chattopadhyay had defeated BJP’s actor-politician Rudranil Ghosh by around 28,000 votes from Bhabanipur. Mamata had won from Bhabanipur twice since 2011. She had moved out of her traditional seat to fight in Nandigram during the Assembly polls earlier this year, but lost to his former close aide Suvendu Adhikari who contested on a BJP ticket. Adhikari is now the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. The notification for the Bhabanipur bypoll will be issued on 6 September, beginning the nomination process. The last date for filing nominations is 13 September, while scrutiny of papers will take place on 14 September. Rhe last date to withdraw from the electoral battle is 16 September. According to an Election Commission statement, the West Bengal chief secretary had urged that in view of administrative exigencies and public interest and to avoid a vacuum in the state, by-elections for Bhabanipur, from where Mamata intends to contest elections, may be conducted. She has to become a member of the state legislature by 5 November.