Bengal by-polls: TMC candidates register handsome lead in Asansol, Ballygunge

The Trinamool Congress marched ahead of its rivals in the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency and the Ballygunge assembly segment by-polls after six rounds of counting, election officials said Saturday.

In Ballygunge, TMC candidate Babul Supriyo is ahead of CPI(M)'s Saira Shah Halim by 9,105 votes, while the ruling party's nominee Shatrughan Sinha is leading by 63,627 votes over BJP's Agnimitra Paul in Asansol, they said.

Supriyo has so far bagged 18,874 votes and Sinha secured 1,61,441 votes.

The by-polls, which took place on April 12, were necessitated as Supriyo resigned as the MP of Asansol after switching over to the TMC from the BJP, while state minister Subrata Mukherjee, who represented Ballygunge, died last year.

A total of 15 lakh voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district, while 2.5 lakh people could vote in south Kolkata's Ballygunge.

The counting exercise began at 8 am amid tight security.