Bhabanipur voters gave a befitting reply to Nandigram conspiracy: Mamata Banerjee on bypoll win

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said that she was " hugely indebted to the people of Bhabanipur" as the TMC supremo won the keenly contested by-election in South Kolkata constituency by a record margin of 58,832 votes.

"I thank you all...sisters, brothers, mothers, everyone from India. In 2016, I saw that I got fewer votes in a few wards. 46 per cent of voters are non-Bengali..everyone has voted for me," Mamata Banerjee said. "3,500 central personnel were sent for this election. Bengal was watching it. A lot of conspiracy happened during the election but I thank people," Mamata further said. 

“People of Bhabanipur gave a befitting reply to the conspiracy that was hatched in Nandigram. I want to once again thank the people of Bhabanipur and West Bengal for today’s election result,” Mamata Banerjee said. 

 

I have won the Bhabanipur Assembly bypolls with a margin of 58,832 votes and have registered the victory in every ward of the constituency: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata pic.twitter.com/EjK8htjUmC

— ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2021

 

She added that she will continue to work for the people. The bypoll win was crucial for Mamata Banerjee in order to continue as the state's chief minister.

Mamata Banerjee defeated her nearest BJP rival Priyanka Tibrewal by record margin of 58,832 votes after the end of 21 rounds of counting of votes that began early on Sunday. Banerjee, the TMC candidate in the Bhabanipur assembly seat in south Kolkata, secured 84,709 votes after the 21 rounds of counting, as per the official data. 

Her nearest rival, BJP's Priyanka Tibrewal, got 26320 votes while Srijib Biswas of the CPI(M) secured 4201 votes.  The margin of Mamata Banerjee's victor can change slightly after the addition of postal ballots.

As per the cumulative Election Commission figures, the TMC is also ahead in Murshidabad's Samserganj and Jangipur constituencies, where votes are being counted for the assembly elections. In Samserganj, TMC candidate Amirul Islam is leading by 3,768 votes after the fifth round of counting. He secured 19,751 votes, while his nearest rival, Zaidur Rahaman of the Congress, got 15,983.

Jangipur's TMC nominee Jakir Hossain is leading by 15,643 votes after the second round of counting. Hossain secured 25,572 votes, and his nearest rival, BJP's Sujit Das, got 9,929.

Voting in these seats was held on September 30. As the reports of Banerjee's massive lead came in, TMC supporters hit streets across the state to celebrate. On the other side, the state offices of the BJP and the CPI (M) wore a deserted look.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission wrote to the Chief Secretary directing him to prohibit victory celebrations and processions to prevent any incident of post-poll violence. Tibrewal, on Saturday night, wrote to the Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Rajesh Bindal, urging him to give orders to the police to take preventive steps to avoid incidents of violence after the declaration of the results.

The bypoll to the Bhabanipur assembly seat and two other constituencies in West Bengal and one in Odisha's Pipli was held on September 30 amid tight security and stringent Covid-19 measures. Mamata Banerjee had lost to BJP`s Suvendu Adhikari in the Nandigram constituency in the assembly elections held earlier this year.

The Bhabanipur assembly seat was vacated by the West Bengal Agriculture Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay in May, paving the way for Mamata Banerjee to contest the bypoll. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded 41-year-old Priyanka Tibrewal, a lawyer, against the TMC chief.

CPI(M) has fielded Srijib Biswas, who is also a lawyer. Congress did not contest the seat. Trinamool Congress had registered a landslide victory in assembly polls winning 213 of 294 seats in the West Bengal assembly.

The BJP had won 77 seats.   

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