The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has secured a resounding victory in the West Bengal assembly by-polls, capturing four key seats previously held by the BJP, reaffirming its dominant position in the state just weeks after a successful Lok Sabha election campaign.
On Saturday, the TMC emerged victorious in Raiganj, Bagda, Ranaghat Dakshin, and Maniktala assembly segments, marking a significant electoral sweep.
The by-polls, conducted on July 10, saw TMC candidates Krishna Kalyani, Madhuparna Thakur, Mukut Mani Adhikari, and Supti Pandey clinching decisive wins.
Krishna Kalyani secured the Raiganj seat in Uttar Dinajpur district with a commanding lead of 50,077 votes over BJP's Manas Kumar Ghosh.
Kalyani garnered 86,479 votes, while Ghosh trailed with 36,402 votes.
In Bagda, Madhuparna Thakur, daughter of TMC Rajya Sabha MP Mamatabala Thakur, triumphed over BJP's Binay Kumar Biswas by 33,455 votes. Thakur received 1,07,706 votes compared to Biswas's 74,251 votes in North 24 Parganas district.
Meanwhile, in Ranaghat Dakshin, Mukut Mani Adhikari secured a victory by 39,048 votes over BJP's Manoj Kumar Biswas. Adhikari amassed 1,13,533 votes while Biswas managed 74,485 votes in North 24 Parganas.
Additionally, Supti Pandey of TMC was leading by a substantial margin of 50,838 votes in the Maniktala segment in Kolkata, positioning the party for another comprehensive win.
These victories mark a significant turnaround for the TMC, reclaiming the Bagda and Ranaghat Dakshin seats, which it had lost to BJP in the 2021 assembly polls.
The by-polls were necessitated by the resignation of MLAs Krishna Kalyani, Mukut Mani Adhikari, and Biswajit Das, who contested and later won Lok Sabha seats on TMC tickets.
Krishna Kalyani, after an unsuccessful bid in the Lok Sabha polls, was renominated and emerged victorious in Raiganj. Similarly, Mukut Mani Adhikari, despite losing the Lok Sabha election, reclaimed his assembly seat in Ranaghat Dakshin.
The Maniktala seat, left vacant after the demise of former state minister Sadhan Pandey, also returned to TMC's fold after the by-polls.
Reacting to the results, a state BJP leader acknowledged the need for introspection.
"We will introspect on the party's performance. However, the TMC's tactics during the by-polls restricted fair competition, and there were numerous irregularities. The ruling party's campaign unleashed fear and intimidation," said BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya.
In response, TMC dismissed these claims as baseless and attributed its success to public endorsement.
"The people's mandate has decisively rejected BJP both in the Lok Sabha and now in the by-polls. Allegations of unfair practices are mere excuses to mask their shortcomings," remarked TMC leader Kunal Ghosh.
The bypoll results are seen as a significant boost for the TMC, consolidating its electoral gains following the Lok Sabha elections where it increased its tally to 29 seats from 22 in 2019.
In contrast, BJP's performance dipped to 12 seats from 18 in the previous parliamentary polls, signaling a setback for the party in West Bengal.
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