Kolkata: Bhawanipore bypoll was important not just for Mamata Banerjee to secure her chief ministership in West Bengal, but also to project Trinamool Congress supremo as the strongest opposition leader contending for Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. And the constituency has delivered its verdict – loud and clear.
The by-election results that were delivered weeks ahead of Durga Puja, on a Sunday gave a massive boost to Mamata Banerjee, who won by over 58000 votes by securing 84709 votes. The TMC supremo vote share remained 71.9 per cent.
Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Priyanka Tibrewal got 26230 votes. The BJP candidate was never in the race. In the 21 rounds of counting she couldn’t even reach close to Banerjee leave aside leading any round. Her vote share remained 22.2 per cent, means Tibrewal saved her security deposit by a whisker.
CPIM’s Srijib Biswas remained at distance third, could not save his security deposits.
This is the third win for Mamata Banerjee from Bhawanipore. With this win, she has secured her third term as CM of Bengal too.
Bengal CM while talking after the results mentioned how big was the margin for her win this time in comparison with the other election win margin, each time that she contested from Bhawanipore.
“I did not lose from any single ward. There are over 46 per cent non-Bengali voters in Bhawanipore constituency. Every community has voted for me,” said Banerjee.
TMC chief also announced three bypolls candidates that have been scheduled on October 30 along with her victory speech.
Addressing media persons, the chief minister mentioned, “Since Bengal polls had begun, the entire central government had done several conspiracies to remove us. I have been attacked too so that I could not contest the election. But the public made us win.”
“The matter of Nandigram result is sub-judice so I would not comment on that,” she added.
The TMC chief showed three fingers instead of two fingers as victory sign, to highlight her party’s win in two other seats—Jangipur and Shamshergunj.
She also requested from the Election Commission to keep the campaign time from October 20 to 27 for October 30 by-polls seeing the biggest festival Durga Puja in Bengal.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Mayor and minister in Mamata cabinet Firhad Hakim had already claimed that Mamata Banerjee would win by 50,000 to 60,000 votes. After the verdict, he told newsmen, “It is a revenge of Nandigram. We had given the call to take revenge of Nandigram, which people did. As Subhash Chandra Bose had given the call of Dilli Chalo before independence, after this win, we are giving the same call — Delhi Chalo (March towards Delhi) and BJP Bhagao Desh Bachao (remove BJP and save the country).”
