TMC Dominates West Bengal Assembly Bypolls, Wrests Three Seats from BJP

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) secured three assembly seats from the BJP in West Bengal's bypolls. Candidates Krishna Kalyani, Madhuparna Thakur, and Mukut Mani Adhikari triumphed in Raiganj, Bagda, and Ranaghat Dakshin, respectively. Additionally, TMC's Supti Pandey led in Maniktala. This victory follows the party's recent success in the Lok Sabha elections.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Saturday made significant gains by wresting Raiganj, Bagda, and Ranaghat Dakshin assembly seats from the BJP in the West Bengal bypolls. This outcome continues TMC's political momentum following their recent victory in the Lok Sabha elections.

The bypolls for these assembly constituencies were conducted on July 10. TMC's Krishna Kalyani, Madhuparna Thakur, and Mukut Mani Adhikari won in Raiganj, Bagda, and Ranaghat Dakshin, respectively, while Supti Pandey was leading in the Maniktala segment of Kolkata.

In Raiganj, located in the Uttar Dinajpur district, Kalyani defeated BJP's Manas Kumar Ghosh by 50,077 votes. Thakur, daughter of TMC MP Mamatabala Thakur, won Bagda in North 24 Parganas by a margin of 33,455 votes against BJP's Binay Kumar Biswas. In Ranaghat Dakshin, also in North 24 Parganas, Adhikari triumphed over BJP's Manoj Kumar Biswas by 39,048 votes.

Despite BJP’s past wins in the 2021 assembly polls for these seats, TMC reclaimed them after the resignation of MLAs Kalyani, Adhikari, and Biswajit Das, who contested in the Lok Sabha polls. In reaction, BJP's state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya cited irregularities, whereas TMC leader Kunal Ghosh dismissed these claims as excuses.

The bypoll results bolster the TMC's position following their Lok Sabha election tally of 29 seats, while the BJP's struggles continue with a reduced count of 12 seats compared to 18 in 2019.