Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Sunday stormed to victory in the Bhabanipur Assembly bye-election with a whooping margin of 58,389 votes, securing her post as the West Bengal Chief Minister.
She had to contest the bye-election as she lost to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in the Nandigram constituency in the last Assembly elections. The TMC also won in the elections in Jangipur and Samserganj Assembly seats.
While Mamata secured 84,709 votes, her nearest rival BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal got 26,320 votes. CPI(M)’s Srijib Biswas secured only 4201 votes.
The TMC supremo broke her own record set in the 2011 Assembly by-election in Bhabanipur when she became Chief Minister for the first time winning with a margin of 54,213 votes. Her winning margin from the constituency in the 2016 Assembly elections was 25,301 votes. With the latest victory, Mamata scored a hat-trick from Bhabanipur.
Speaking to reporters outside her residence, Mamata said that the people of Bhabanipur gave a fitting reply to the conspiracy that was hatched to defeat her in Nandigram.
“I wish to thank the people of Bhabanipur and West Bengal who were waiting for the results. The people of Bhabanipur gave a fitting reply to the conspiracy that was hatched to defeat me in Nandigram. I will not say anything else on this as the matter is sub-judice,” said Mamata.
The TMC supremo also said that this time she has secured victory in every ward of Bhabanipur.
“Around 46% of the people in Bhabanipur are non-Bengalis. They have voted for me en-masse. The fact that the people of West Bengal were watching Bhabanipur inspired me,” said Mamata.
Lashing out at the BJP she alleged that it hatched a conspiracy to oust the TMC from power. “They hurt my feet so that I could not contest the election. I am grateful to the public for voting for us in large numbers and the Election Commission for conducting the election within six months,” said Mamata.
She needed to get elected to the Assembly within six months of taking oath as Chief Minister on May 5 to continue in her post.
Tibrewal alleged “if people were allowed to vote freely, then the picture would have been different. There has been rigging and false voting in Bhabanipur.”
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