Need to rectify mistakes, traitors harming prospects: TMC leaders after bypoll loss, Tripura debacle

Senior TMC leaders on Friday called for introspection in the party after its defeat in Sagardighi assembly by-poll in West Bengal and dismal performance in Tripura, further urging the top brass to ''identify traitors who are sabotaging the party's prospects''.

The Congress on Thursday secured a seat in the present Bengal assembly as its candidate Bayron Biswas wrested the minority-dominated Sagardighi constituency from the ruling TMC in a by-poll.

Biswas won the by-election, defeating the nearest rival of the TMC by 22,986 votes.

The Mamata Banerjee-led camp, which has been trying to expand its footprint beyond West Bengal, also failed to open its account in Tripura elections. The party bagged five seats in Meghalaya.

''If I am ill, I need to visit a doctor. There should be proper introspection in the wake of the recent election results. If there is any problem within the party, a CT scan should be conducted to detect those. We need to be more vigilant,'' senior TMC leader and MLA Madan Mitra told reporters.

The TMC, which has been winning the seat since 2011 and had secured a margin of more than 50,000 votes in the 2021 assembly elections, witnessed a nosedive in its vote share in Sagardighi.

TMC MP Aparupa Poddar said the party must identify the traitors, who are harming its prospects in one way or the other.

''We need to identify the traitors and throw them out. Some people are sabotaging the party's prospects. The party needs to look into it,'' she noted.

TMC MP Sougata Roy, too, underlined that the Tripura results were ''very disappointing'' and hoped the party takes corrective measures.

''We couldn't do well in Tripura; we don't have a strong organisation there. We need to look into what should be done to rectify the mistakes,'' he told PTI.

Top TMC leaders, including the party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, had campaigned in the northeastern state ahead of the February 28 elections.