As TMC Presses For Bypolls, Focus Remains on VIP Constituency of Bhawanipore

As a Trinamool Congress delegation met the Election Commission, on Thursday, to press for the bypolls for the seven vacant Assembly seats of West Bengal, the focus remains on the VIP seat of Bhawanipore from where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to fight. CM Banerjee, who lost from the Nandigram constituency against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in state assembly elections, has to be elected as an MLA by early November to continue on her post.

Mamata Banerjee is expected to contest the polls from her old seat Bhawanipore which was vacated after MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay resigned from the constituency on May 21 to make way for her. Samserganj, Jangipur, Dinhata, Santipur, Kharda and Gosaba are the other six constituencies where new MLAs need to be elected.

The TMC on August 8 rolled out a new campaign slogan in CM Banerjee’s home turf Bhawanipore Assembly constituency for the bypolls. In the new slogan ‘Unnayan Ghore Ghore, Ghorer Meye Bhowanipore’ (Development is everywhere, Bhowanipore has its own daughter), the TMC highlights Mamata Banerjee as the daughter of the constituency.

Mamata Banerjee was elected from Bhowanipore in 2011 and 2016 Assembly elections

On the other hand, Voting at Samserganj and Jangipur could not be held as the candidates died during the recent assembly elections, whereas BJP MPs Nisith Pramanik and Jagannath Sarkar won from Dinhata and Santipur respectively, but resigned to retain their Parliament seats.

Gosaba and Kharda MLAs, on the other hand, died following which polling was necessitated in those two constituencies as well.

Meanwhile a delegation of five TMC MPs had met the Election Commission on Thursday to press for immediate bypolls in West Bengal. Saugata Roy, who was part of the delegation, said TMC is hopeful of a fair response from the poll body, adding that the delegation members highlighted the conducive environment in West Bengal for organising the by-elections.

The Election Commission, earlier this month, had written a letter to all political parties seeking their views on conducting by-polls in the state.

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