Kolkata, June 12: With West Bengal gearing up for pivotal bypolls in four Assembly constituencies on July 10, a close examination of seat-wise results from the recent Lok Sabha elections reveals the BJP's commanding lead in three seats, while the Trinamool Congress maintains a marginal advantage in just one.
The BJP asserts dominance in the Raiganj constituency in North Dinajpur district, Bagda in North 24 Parganas, and Ranaghat-Dakshin in Nadia, according to detailed statistics. Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress holds a slight edge in the Maniktala constituency in Kolkata.
Analyzing the Assembly-wise results from the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP secured the highest gain margin in Raiganj at 46,739, followed by Ranaghat-Dakshin at 35,936 and Bagda at 20,614.
In contrast, the Trinamool Congress holds a meager gain margin of 3,575 in Maniktala from the Lok Sabha polls, raising concerns within the ruling party. Notably, this margin is significantly lower compared to the Trinamool's winning margin of 20,238 from the same Assembly constituency in the 2021 Assembly polls.
The narrow margin at Maniktala has prompted action from Trinamool Congress leadership, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has formed a four-member committee to oversee preparations for the upcoming bypolls.
The by-election in Maniktala follows the passing of former Trinamool Congress legislator Sadhan Pande.
In the remaining three constituencies, former BJP legislators—Biswajit Das from Bagda, Dr. Mukut Mani Adhikari from Ranaghat-Dakshin, and Krishna Kalyani from Raiganj—all resigned from the Assembly after contesting Lok Sabha elections as Trinamool Congress candidates.
While they were defeated this time, bypolls are necessary in these three Assembly constituencies from which they resigned.
Trinamool Congress insiders indicate a preliminary decision to nominate Sadhan Pande’s widow, Supti Pande, from Maniktala, although an official announcement of her candidacy is pending.
