West Bengal bypolls: TMC makes clean sweep in Uluberia, Noapara, BJP increases vote share to emerge second

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress on Thursday made a clean sweep in the by-elections to Uluberia Lok Sabha and Noapara Assembly seats, while the BJP finished second, increasing its vote share. The CPM-led Left Front was pushed to the third position while Congress candidates suffered the ignominy of losing security deposits in both the seats, including Noapara, which the party won in 2016. TMC candidate Sajda Ahmed trounced Anupam Mallick of BJP by over 4.74 lakh votes in Uluberia Lok Sabha seat in Howrah district. She has secured 7,67,219 votes as against 2,93,018 votes bagged by the BJP candidate. Sajda is the wife of TMC MP Sultan Ahmed, whose death necessitated the bypoll. [caption id=“attachment_4331231” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The BJP’s vote in the seat has doubled as the party secured slightly over 1.37 lakh votes in Uluberia in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. CPI(M) candidate Sabiruddin Mollah finished third securing 1,38,792 votes. In the 2014 Lok Sabha poll the party bagged over 3.69 lakh votes in the constituency. Congress candidate Muddasor Hossain Warsi emerged fourth by securing only 23,108 votes. In Noapara Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas district TMC candidate Sunil Singh emerged victorius securing 1,01,729 votes, while BJP’s Sandip Banerjee got 38,711 votes. CPI(M) candidate Gargi Chatterjee was at number three spot with 35,497 votes. The bypoll in Noapara was necessitated following the death of sitting Congress MLA Madhusudan Ghose. Congress, which had won the Noapara seat in the 2016 assembly election, finished fourth as its nominee Goutam Bose secured only 10,523 votes. The party lost its deposit in both the seats. A defeated candidate who fails to secure more than one sixth of the valid votes polled in the constituency has to forfeit his security deposit.