The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday won the Dhupguri assembly seat in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district in the by-poll that was necessitated by the death of BJP MLA Bishnu Pada Ray on July 25. The counting of votes took place at the Jalpaiguri II campus of North Bengal University.
TMC candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy, a college professor, won the seat by over 4,000 votes defeating his nearest rival BJP’s Tapasi Roy, the widow of a CRPF jawan killed in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021. Polling for the seat took place on September 5.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) candidate Ishwar Chandra Roy, who was backed by the Congress, was at a distant third spot, according to officials.
With the latest defeat in Dhupguri, the BJP has lost all bypolls since its defeat in the 2021 Assembly elections. Currently, it has 74 seats in the West Bengal Assembly, down from 77.
Following the win, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said the people of Dhupguri embraced politics of development over hatred and bigotry. “Saluting every AITC worker for their tireless efforts in connecting with the people. We’re committed to leaving no stone unturned in ensuring Dhupguri’s all-round development,” he posted on X.
Polling for the seat took place on September 5 with a voter turnout of 78 per cent.
Meanwhile, the BJP said that there was a need for self-assessment and fixing organisational gaps. Criticising the state party leadership’s failure to fix the organisational gaps for the defeat, party national secretary Anupam Hazra Friday called for “proper” self-assessment and fixing of the lacunae ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, that is scheduled next year
Former BJP state president and MP Dilip Ghosh said it is “quite natural” and generally so that the party in power in the state wins by-polls, but he said, at the same time there must be some self-assessment.