Kolkata, Four assembly seats in West Bengal will be up for election on Wednesday. The BJP is looking to leverage its Lok Sabha electoral advantage in three of these segments to boost morale and the TMC is looking to capitalize on its recent electoral success.
Three of the four constituencies (Maniktala in Kolkata, Ranaghat Dakshin and Bagdah in northern 24 Parganas) are in south Bengal.
The BJP won seats in Ranaghat Dakshin and Bagdah in the 2021 assembly elections.
The fourth, Raiganj, is in the Uttar Dinajpur district of north Bengal and was won by the saffron camp in the last assembly elections.
The TMC secured the Maniktala seat in 2021, but it fell vacant after the death of former state minister Sadhan Pandey in February 2022.
Even though the BJP won the other three seats in 2021, the MLAs subsequently switched to the TMC.
The Trinamool Congress nominated Supti Pandey, wife of the late party leader.
Krishna Kalyani from Raiganj, Biswajit Das from Bagdah and Mukut Mani Adhikari from Ranaghat Dakshin resigned from their posts to contest the Lok Sabha elections.
Kalyani, who lost to BJP's Kartik Chandra Paul in the Lok Sabha polls, is back in the fray from Raiganj.
Adhikari, who lost to BJP's Jagannath Sarkar from the Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat, is again contesting from the Ranaghat Dakshin assembly segment.
In Bagdah, a Matua majority constituency, the TMC has fielded Madhuparna Takur, a Matua Thakurbari member and daughter of its Rajya Sabha MP Mamatabala Thakur.
The BJP has fielded All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey from Maniktala, Manoj Kumar Biswas from Ranaghat Dakshin, Binay Kumar Biswas from Bagdah and Manas Kumar Ghosh from Raiganj. Chaubey had unsuccessfully contested Maniktala constituency in 2021.
Riding on its success in the Lok Sabha polls, with the party winning 29 of the 42 seats in the state, up from 22 in 2019, the TMC hopes to win all four assembly segments.
“We are confident of winning all four assembly seats. The people of Bengal rejected the BJP in the last Lok Sabha polls,” said TMC leader Kunal Ghosh.
Despite its dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls, where it was reduced to 12 seats from the 18 it had won in 2019, the BJP is hopeful of retaining the Bagdah, Ranaghat Dakshin and Raiganj constituencies, citing significant advantages in these. assembly segments in the recent elections. parliamentary polls.
“People have rejected the traitors from all three seats: Bagdah, Ranaghat Dakshin and Raiganj. We also won all three Lok Sabha seats under which these assembly segments fall,” BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said.
The Left Front, in collaboration with Congress, participates in the by-elections. The CPI(M) has fielded Arindam Biswas from Ranaghat Dakshin and Rajib Majumder from Maniktala.
The Left Front's ally, the Forward Bloc, has nominated Gouraditya Biswas for Bagdah, while the Congress has chosen Mohit Sengupta in Raiganj.
The Election Commission has adopted elaborate security measures to ensure free and fair elections in the four assembly constituencies.
To secure the 1,097 polling booths in Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagdah and Maniktala, the EC is deploying around 70 companies of central forces, an official said.
There are around 10 lakh voters in the four assembly segments.
The count will take place on July 13.
Three of the four constituencies (Maniktala in Kolkata, Ranaghat Dakshin and Bagdah in northern 24 Parganas) are in south Bengal.
The BJP won seats in Ranaghat Dakshin and Bagdah in the 2021 assembly elections.
The fourth, Raiganj, is in the Uttar Dinajpur district of north Bengal and was won by the saffron camp in the last assembly elections.
The TMC secured the Maniktala seat in 2021, but it fell vacant after the death of former state minister Sadhan Pandey in February 2022.
Even though the BJP won the other three seats in 2021, the MLAs subsequently switched to the TMC.
The Trinamool Congress nominated Supti Pandey, wife of the late party leader.
Krishna Kalyani from Raiganj, Biswajit Das from Bagdah and Mukut Mani Adhikari from Ranaghat Dakshin resigned from their posts to contest the Lok Sabha elections.
Kalyani, who lost to BJP's Kartik Chandra Paul in the Lok Sabha polls, is back in the fray from Raiganj.
Adhikari, who lost to BJP's Jagannath Sarkar from the Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat, is again contesting from the Ranaghat Dakshin assembly segment.
In Bagdah, a Matua majority constituency, the TMC has fielded Madhuparna Takur, a Matua Thakurbari member and daughter of its Rajya Sabha MP Mamatabala Thakur.
The BJP has fielded All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey from Maniktala, Manoj Kumar Biswas from Ranaghat Dakshin, Binay Kumar Biswas from Bagdah and Manas Kumar Ghosh from Raiganj. Chaubey had unsuccessfully contested Maniktala constituency in 2021.
Riding on its success in the Lok Sabha polls, with the party winning 29 of the 42 seats in the state, up from 22 in 2019, the TMC hopes to win all four assembly segments.
“We are confident of winning all four assembly seats. The people of Bengal rejected the BJP in the last Lok Sabha polls,” said TMC leader Kunal Ghosh.
Despite its dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls, where it was reduced to 12 seats from the 18 it had won in 2019, the BJP is hopeful of retaining the Bagdah, Ranaghat Dakshin and Raiganj constituencies, citing significant advantages in these. assembly segments in the recent elections. parliamentary polls.
“People have rejected the traitors from all three seats: Bagdah, Ranaghat Dakshin and Raiganj. We also won all three Lok Sabha seats under which these assembly segments fall,” BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said.
The Left Front, in collaboration with Congress, participates in the by-elections. The CPI(M) has fielded Arindam Biswas from Ranaghat Dakshin and Rajib Majumder from Maniktala.
The Left Front's ally, the Forward Bloc, has nominated Gouraditya Biswas for Bagdah, while the Congress has chosen Mohit Sengupta in Raiganj.
The Election Commission has adopted elaborate security measures to ensure free and fair elections in the four assembly constituencies.
To secure the 1,097 polling booths in Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagdah and Maniktala, the EC is deploying around 70 companies of central forces, an official said.
There are around 10 lakh voters in the four assembly segments.
The count will take place on July 13.