Bhabanipur bypoll: BJP may field Priyanka Tibrewal against CM Mamata Banerjee

New Delhi: The BJP seems to have zeroed in on one name to field against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from the Bhabanipur seat in the upcoming Assembly bypoll, and the name is likely to be announced on Thursday, according to reports in a section of media. 

Advocate Priyanka Tibrewal, who was the legal adviser of Babul Supriyo, is learnt to be the candidate to challenge CM Mamata Banerjee for the high profile seat. Tibrewal earlier contested the Kolkata Municipal Council elections as a BJP candidate in 2015 but lost to Trinamool Congress’s Swapan Sammadar.

She joined the BJP in August 2014 and has reportedly handled several important tasks. In August 2020, she was made the vice president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in West Bengal. In 2021, she contested the assembly election from Entally but lost to TMC’s Swarna Kamal Saha with a margin of 58,257 votes.

Born on July 7, 1981, in Kolkata, Tibrewal did her schooling at Welland Gouldsmith School and graduated from Delhi University. After that, she reportedly pursued a law degree from Hazra Law College, which is under Calcutta University, in 2007. 

Tibrewal told a news channel, “The party has consulted me and asked my opinion on whether I would like to contest from Bhabanipur or not. There are many names and I am not yet aware of who will be the candidate. I would like to thank my senior party leaders for supporting me all these years.”

“If my party fields me from Bhabanipur against Mamata Banerjee, I will give my best and I am hopeful that people will support me in this battle of justice vs injustice," she added.

Notably, Congress has decided not to field any candidate against Mamata Banerjee, while CPI (M) has finalised the name of advocate Shrijeeb Biswas from Bhabanipur. The bypoll will take place on September 30, and the counting will be held on October 3. 

This bypoll victory holds significance for Mamata Banerjee if she has to remain Chief Minister of the state. 

"A Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the Legislature of the State shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a Minister," according to Article 164 (4) of the Constitution. Therefore, Mamata Banerjee has to win this crucial bypoll.

Mamata attacks PM Modi, Amit Shah, for targetting TMC leaders 

As soon as the assembly by-poll dates were announced, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of using central agencies to target Trinamool Congress leaders as part of the BJP's vendetta politics.

Claiming that the BJP is worse than Duryodhana and Dushashana, Kaurava brothers in the Mahabharata, she alleged that Modi and Shah had hatched a conspiracy to defeat her in Nandigram during the assembly election held earlier this year and forced her to contest a by-poll.

Mamata, who started her poll campaign for the Bhabanipur by-election, also alleged that the saffron party is targeting party general secretary and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee for political reasons, claiming there is no valid case against him.

Notably, she was defeated by the BJP's Suvendu Adhikari from the Nandigram seat in the assembly elections held earlier this year. She announced that she will file her nomination for the Bhabanipur bypoll on Friday.

(With Agency Inputs)

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