News Analysis India

Tag: Bhowanipore bypoll

  • Mamata Banerjee, two other newly-elected TMC MLAs to take oath on October 7 

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday said he will administer the oath to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as a member of the state assembly on October 7.

    Banerjee won the Bhabanipur by-poll with a record margin of 58,835 votes.

    She needed to win the election to retain the chief minister’s chair.

    Two other newly elected TMC legislators will also take oath on Thursday.

    “Governor WB Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar would administer oath/affirmation to the elected members to the WBLA, viz., MAMATA BANERJEE, JAKIR HOSSIAN and AMIRUL ISLAM at the premises of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on 7 October, 2021 at 11.45 hours,” he tweeted.

    Jakir Hossain was declared victorious by a huge margin of 92,480 votes from the Jangipur constituency, while Amirul Islam won from Samserganj by a margin of 26,379 votes.

    The results were declared on Sunday.

    West Bengal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee on Monday requested the governor to administer the oath to the three legislators, including Banerjee, on October 7.

  • West Bengal bypolls: Moderate turnout in Mamata stronghold, polling peaceful  

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA:  Voting was peaceful in Bhowanipore, Samsherganj and Jangipur on Thursday with the high-profile South Kolkata constituency from where Mamata Banerjee contested recording moderate turnout of 53.32 per cent polling till 5 pm.

    In contrast, Samsherganj and Jangipur reported 78.6 and 76.12 per cent polling till 5 pm. Heavy security arrangements were put in place at Bhowanipore with nearly 40 companies of central force personnel manning 287 polling booths. Despite the security apparatus, the BJP claimed its leader Kalyan Choubey was attacked and windshield of his vehicle was smashed. The TMC denied the allegation.  

    Bhowanipore is Mamata’s stronghold as she was elected twice from the seat. The TMC is confident of winning  all three seats. Mamata is contesting against BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal and CPI(M)’s Srijib Biswas. The bypoll is being keenly watched as Mamata is contesting to enter the Bengal Assembly courtesy a win while the BJP is eyeing a re-run of Nandigram where the CM lost to her protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari.

    Priyanka continued visiting polling booths throughout the day. “I caught a false voter, who came from another constituency, red handed. TMC’s youth wing leaders sent him to cast vote. This how the ruling party is conducting the by-election to ensure Mamata’s win,” she alleged.

    The BJP lodged a complaint with the EC requesting to restrict movement of TMC ministers Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim in the constituency alleging that they were visiting polling booths and influencing electorates. “This is completely baseless allegation. I did not visit a single polling booth. I travelled along the road without stopping anywhere. I am sitting in a party camp in my locality,’’ said Hakim. 

  • Bhowanipore bypoll: 7.57 per cent voter turnout recorded till 9 am

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Around 7.57 per cent polling was recorded in the by-election to the Bhowanipore assembly constituency, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting, till 9 am on Thursday, Election Commission sources said.

    They said that during the first two hours, around 16.32 and 17.51 per cent voting was recorded in Samserganj and Jangipur seats in Murshidabad district. Polling began at 7 am amid tight security. A total of 6,97,164 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the three constituencies.

    Votes will be counted on October 3. Banerjee, who lost from the Nandigram constituency in the assembly elections earlier this year, has to win this by-poll to retain the chief minister’s post. Polls had to be countermanded in Jangipur and Samserganj in April following the death of two candidates.

    Long queues were seen since early morning outside several booths across the constituencies. Voting will continue till 6 pm. Banerjee, who is also the Trinamool Congress supremo, is pitted against BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal and CPM’s Srijib Biswas in Bhowanipore.

  • Bhowanipore bypoll: Voting begins for key constituency, two other seats also in spotlight

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Polling began at 7 am on Thursday for the by-election to the Bhowanipore seat, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting, and two other constituencies amid tight security and stringent COVID-19 measures, officials said.

    The bypolls are being held in south Kolkata’s Bhowanipore, besides Jangipur and Samserganj seats in Murshidabad district. A total 6,97,164 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the three constituencies.

    Votes will be counted on October 3. Banerjee, who lost from the Nandigram constituency in the assembly elections earlier this year, has to win this bypoll to retain the chief minister’s post. Polls had to be countermanded in Jangipur and Samserganj in April following the death of two candidates.

    As part of its elaborate security arrangements, the Election Commission has deployed 72 companies of central forces in the three constituencies, of which 35 are stationed in Bhabanipur alone, the officials said. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC have been imposed within 200 metres of the polling centres.

    Long queues were seen since early morning outside several booths across the constituencies. Voting will continue till 6 pm. The polling centres have been stocked up with masks and sanitisers as part of the COVID-19 guidelines, the officials said.

    Banerjee, who is also the Trinamool Congress supremo, is pitted against BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal and CPM’s Srijib Biswas in Bhabanipur.

  • Heavy security cover for Bhowanipore bypoll, arrangements in place to tackle rain

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Stringent security arrangements were in place in Bhowanipore with the deployment of 15 companies of central forces ahead of the assembly by-election, a senior police official said on Wednesday.

    Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC were also imposed within 200 m of the polling centres where voting will take place on Thursday, he said.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the Trinamool Congress candidate in the Bhowanipore by-election in south Kolkata, while the BJP has fielded Priyanka Tibrewal, and CPI(M)’s Srijib Biswas is in the fray.

    Inside each of the 287 booths at 97 polling centres in Bhowanipore, half-a-section — three jawans — of the central forces will be deployed.

    Kolkata Police officers will be in charge of the security outside the booths.

    “Assembly of five or more persons within the periphery of 200 m of any polling premises will not be allowed. A ban has been imposed on anybody carrying stones, weapons, firecrackers and other explosive materials,” the Kolkata Police said in an order.

    Police pickets were set up at 38 locations across Bhowanipore, the official said.

    On the day of the polling, 22 sector mobile, nine HRFS (Heavy Radio Flying Squad) teams, 13 quick response teams (QRTs), nine teams each of the static surveillance team, flying squad, and an equal number of striking forces from surrounding police stations will be deployed, he said.

    Besides, three sub-division striking forces will also be deployed, he added.

    One additional police commissioner along with four joint police commissioners, 14 deputy commissioners and an equal number of assistant commissioners have been deployed for the Bhowanipore by-election, the official said.

    “We have also opened three additional control rooms. There will be arrangements for 141 special vehicles to escort the EVMs,” he said.

    Two strong rooms to store the EVMs have been set up at the Sakhawat Memorial Govt Girls’ High School on Lord Sinha Road, he said.

    All policemen have been asked to wear raincoats and carry umbrellas owing to the inclement weather conditions in the city.

    The Election Commission has also asked the Irrigation Department to be on alert owing to the weather conditions here, the official said.

    “All the polling centres have been asked to keep pumps ready to drain floodwater. We have also asked the Irrigation Department and Disaster Management Department to be ready in case of any emergency because of the heavy rainfall,” he said.

    Strict security arrangements have also been made in Jangipur and Samserganj where assembly polls will be held on Thursday, an election official said.

    There are 363 booths in Jangipur and 329 in Samserganj, he said.

    The votes will be counted on October 3.

  • BJP fears dent in non-Bengali votes in ‘Didi vs Didi’ battle

    Express News Service

    BHOWANIPORE:  It was a weekend morning and a group of around 20 middle-aged men, sitting in front of a tea-stall near Northern Park in Bhowanipore, was constantly fiddling with their mobile phones and sharing WhatsApp messages. The men, belonging to non-Bengali speaking community, which is said to be the BJP’s main vote-bank, were not sharing jokes or any other content. Instead, all messages were related to one subject: Whom to support, TMC’s Mamata or BJP’s Priyanka?

    The apparent confusion about voting preference among non-Bengali electorate in Bhowanipore assembly constituency, which supported the BJP en bloc in the recent assembly elections, has raised concerns in the saffron camp and brought smiles on the faces of TMC functionaries.

    “It is a fact that the non-Bengali community has been divided into two factions. One wants to support the BJP while the other prefers to gather behind Mamata because her party has returned to power. Besides, the BJP also failed to retain its legislative strength that it had secured in the assembly polls,” said Vikram Mehta, whose grandfather had arrived here from Gujarat decades ago.

     Mehta was not hesitant to disclose that he was suggesting others of his community to vote for Mamata by sharing WhatsApp messages.  Bhowanipore is all set to witness a high-voltage by-election of recent times in Bengal’s electoral history on September 30. Mamata is the first chief minister of Bengal who is to face a by-election to retain her position. Though other political parties have fielded candidates, like the assembly polls, it is a battle between the TMC and its arch rival BJP.

    Those who do not speak Bengali form around 40 per cent of the total electorate in Bhowanipore. Though the BJP is expecting the support of this section, the ground scenario doesn’t second their expectations.    “Why would we vote for the BJP? Many of us voted for the BJP because there was a perception that it would get power in Bengal. But the election results were far from it. Now a good chunk of non-Bengali voters have decided to support Mamata and they are also convincing others by sending messages on social media,” said homemaker Rekha Mehta.

    Meanwhile, BJP candidate and young lawyer Priyanka Tibrewal appeared confident of bagging the support of non-Bengali voters. “People of Bhwanipore, irrespective of what language they speak, will support me,” she said. Though the BJP has engaged its national leadership for poll-campaign in Bhowanipore, the saffron camp, sensing dent on its non-Bengali votebank, has chalked out a strategy to ‘hijack’ Mamata’s popular ‘Didi image’. In the poll-related posters and graffiti, Priyanka is not mentioning her surname but portraying herself as ‘Priyanka Didi’.

    “This is to woo the Bengali voters. We adopted the strategy to give an impression that it is a Didi vs Didi battle,” said a BJP leader. The walls along a narrow lane in Bhowanipore’s Ekbalpore area, a Muslim dominated- pocket, was completely covered with poll graffiti displaying Mamata’s photos, her favourite slogan khele hobe and a new campaign-line Bhowanipore nijer meyeke chay (Bhowanipore wants their own daughter). 

    A cluster of youths standing in front of a tea-stall in the area was confident that there would be no re-run of Nandigram. “There is no hurdle on the path of Didi’s victory. This pocket has been loyal to her since the 2011 assembly elections,” said Mohammad Samad of Ekbalpore, a stronghold of TMC.

    Meanwhile, the Bengal CM’s speech in her poll campaigns reflects desperation to bag victory in the by-poll. “Every single vote is important to me. If you want to me see as the CM, don’t waste your vote,” Mamata continues to say in her campaigns. While the saffron camp claimed that “Mamata is under pressure”, the TMC side rubbished it.

  • Bhowanipore bypoll hots up as TMC, BJP woo voters in non-Bengali belt

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA: It was a weekend morning and a group of 20 odd middle-aged men, sitting in front of a tea-stall near Northern Park in Bhowanipore, was seen fiddling with their phones and sharing WhatsApp messages. The men belonging to the non-Bengali community, said to be BJP’s vote-bank in Bengal, were not sharing jokes or any other content. Instead, all messages were related to one subject: Whom to support, TMC’s Mamata or BJP’s Priyanka?

    The question to support whom among the non-Bengali community living in Bhowanipore Assembly constituency, which supported the BJP en bloc in the recent Assembly elections, has sparked concerns in the saffron camp and brought smiles on the faces of TMC functionaries.

    “It is a fact that the non-Bengali community has been divided into two factions. One wants to go with the allegiance that was extended to the BJP in the Assembly elections. The other prefers to support the TMC’s chief ministerial candidate Mamata Banerjee because her party has returned to power with a thumping majority. Besides, the BJP also failed to retain the legislative strength that it secured in the Assembly polls,’’ said Vikram Mehta, whose grandfather had come to settle here from Gujarat decades ago.

    Mehta was not hesitant to disclose that he was suggesting other members of his community vote for Mamata by sharing WhatsApp messages.

    Bhowanipore is all set to witness a high-voltage by-election of recent times in West Bengal’s electoral history on September 30. Mamata is the first chief minister of Bengal who will face a by-election to get elected as an MLA to retain her position in the state administration. Though other political parties fielded candidates, like the Assembly polls, but it is a battle between the TMC and its arch-rival BJP.

    Those who do not speak Bengali form 40 per cent of the total electorate in Bhowanipore Assembly constituency. Though the BJP is expecting support from this set of voters, the ground reality doesn’t resonate with their expectations. 

    “Why would we vote for BJP’s candidate? Many of us voted for the BJP because there was a perception that it almost came to power in Bengal. But the Assembly election’s result was far from it. Now a good chunk of non-Bengali voters decided to support Mamata and they are also convincing others by sending messages on WhatsApp,’’ said homemaker Rekha Mehta.

    BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal is confident of bagging support from the non-Bengali community. “People of Bhwanipore, irrespective of what language they speak, will support me,” said the young lawyer.

    Though the BJP engaged its national leadership and Union ministers for poll-campaign in Bhowanipore, the saffron camp, sensing dent on its non-Bengali vote-bank, chalked out a strategy to ‘hijack’ Mamata’s popular “Didi image”. In the poll-graffiti, Priyanka did not mention her surname and was portrayed as Priyanka Didi. “This is to woo the Bengali-speaking electorates. We adopted the strategy to give an impression that it is a Didi vs Didi battle,” said a BJP leader.

    The walls along a narrow lane in Bhowanipore’s Ekbalpore area, a Muslim dominated pocket, is completely covered with graffiti displaying chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s photos, her favourite slogan ‘khela hobe’ and a new campaign line ‘Bhowanipore nijer meyeke chay’ (Bhowanipore wants their own daughter). A cluster of 20-odd youths standing in front of a tea-stall was confident that there would be no re-run of Nandigram episode and victory for Mamata from her erstwhile south Kolkata constituency would be a cakewalk.

    “The is no hurdle on the path of Didi’s victory. This pocket has been loyal to her since the 2011 Assembly elections,” said Mohammad Samad of Ekbalpore, a stronghold of TMC.

    The Bengal CM’s speech in her poll campaigns reflected her desperation to bag victory in the by-poll. “Every single vote is important to me. If you want to me see as the CM, don’t waste your vote,’’ Mamata continued saying in her campaigns.

    Mamata on Sunday asked her party workers to distribute pamphlets door-to-door. “My political career started from Bhowanipur. Because of Covid protocols, I cannot reach you. I seek your blessings,’’ she urged to electorates in the pamphlets.

    When the saffron camp labelled the desperation as a reflection of ‘Mamata under pressure’, the TMC rubbished the claim.

    “The victory is confirmed. In the Assembly elections, our candidate Sovandeb Chattopadhyay won from here by a margin of 28,719 votes. In 2016 Assembly polls, Mamata didi won by 25,301 votes. Our target is securing a victory margin of more than 50,000 votes. If she gets one vote less than Chattopadhyay’s victory margin, BJP will get a chance to raise questions on the CM’s popularity,’’ said a senior TMC leader.

    Bhowanipore fact-fileTotal voters: 2,00,938

    Male: 1,09,024

    Female: 91,911

    Transgender: 3

    Non-Bengali voters: 40%

    Muslim voters: 10%

    Bengali voters: 50%

  • Talibani BJP can’t run India’: Mamata after Centre denies her nod to visit Italy next month

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA: Centre has denied permission to Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to participate in the world peace conference to be held in Italy in October.  The CM on Saturday said the denial was out of “jealousy”. 

    While addressing a rally in Bhowanipore, from where she is contesting in the by-election, Mamata said she was invited as a representative from Asia to visit Italy but the BJP-led central government stopped her from going to that country. 

    “They (BJP) talk about peace. But I have been barred from participating in a peace conference. I was invited as a representative from Asia. But the Centre denied permission citing political grounds and saying it wasn’t right for the CM to attend this programme. It is total jealousy,” said Mamata at a rally at Shakespeare Sarani in Bhowanipore. 

    The CM slammed the saffron camp labelling it as “Talibani BJP”. Urging the electorates to defeat BJP in the by-election, she said, “You will not be able to stop me. Bhowanipore will show the path to derail the BJP-led central government and rest of the country will follow it. Talibani BJP cannot run India.”

    ALSO READ | Bhowanipore bypolls: Mamata is nervous, says Hardeep Singh Puri in Bengal

    The Union Ministry of External Affairs denied Mamata permission to attend the event in Italy as the event is not commensurate in status for participation by the chief minister of a state. 

    Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit, Mamata said she was not eager to visit foreign countries. “You (Modi) are visiting a foreign country. I have no issue regarding it because a PM has to visit overseas countries for the sake of the country’s interest. But why my visit to Italy has been barred? You are totally jealous,” she asked. 

    Hitting out at BJP’s Hindutva rhetoric, Mamata said the peace conference will be attended by representatives from Muslim and Christian communities. “The BJP talks about Hindutva and seek votes. I would have been the face of the Hindu community in the peace conference. But they did not allow me to participate in the event,” she asked.      

    Earlier, the Italian government had requested Mamata not to come with any delegates. She then proposed clearance for the industry delegation and requested the Centre for permission which has been denied.

  • ‘No constitutional exigency elsewhere?’ HC questions EC for expediting Bhowanipore bypoll

    Express News Service

    KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Friday refused to take on record the affidavit filed by the Election Commission in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition challenging the poll panel’s decision to prioritize the by-elections in the Bhowanipore Assembly constituency, from where CM Mamata Banerjee is contesting, citing constitutional exigency.

    A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj came down heavily on the Commission for filing the affidavit in incorrect format and asked if there was no constitutional exigency in other constituencies where a by-election is pending? 

    On September 6, the Commission had issued a notification announcing the by-election on September 30 underscoring the exigency and special request received from the chief secretary of the state government. 

    ALSO READ | Bhowanipore bypolls: Mamata is nervous, says Hardeep Singh Puri in Bengal

    In the letter to the Commission, the chief secretary had written that there would be a constitutional crisis if the by-elections in Bhowanipore are not held on an urgent basis.      

    “Nothing is mentioned in the affidavit. Who filed it? We cannot take this on record,” remarked Bindal. 

    Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, the lawyer represented the petitioner of the PIL, pointed out to the court that vital averments had not been affirmed in the affidavit. “Is this kind of affidavit that the highest constitutional authority should submit?” he asked. 

    After witnessing the recent high-octane Assembly elections, Bengal is all set to experience another high-voltage battle between the CM Mamata and her contestant fielded by the BJP. While kicking off her poll campaign on Wednesday, Mamata made it clear that she would not leave any stone unturned to win the election. Urging voters to exercise their franchise in favour of her, she had said, “Every single vote is important to me. If you do not vote me, you not be able to see me as the chief minister.” 

    In Bhowanipore, more than 40% of the electorates are non-Bengali on which the BJP is banking. Muslims form only a little more than 5% of the total electorates, which is said to be Mamata’s vote bank.

  • Bhowanipore bypolls: Mamata is nervous, says Hardeep Singh Puri in Bengal

    By ANI

    KOLKATA: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is nervous ahead of Bhowanipore bypoll.

    “Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is quite nervous. She said she cannot remain chief minister if people do not vote for her. Why is the bypoll is happening? It is because she lost in Nandigram against Suvendu Adhikari,” Puri told ANI.

    “She is asking about fuel prices. She must know that in the GST Council meeting the states including West Bengal decided to keep petrol-diesel away from the purview of GST. The centre only takes Rs 32 per litre. But the state government charges 40 per cent VAT. July onwards, the West Bengal government has raised the price of petrol by Rs 3.51 per litre. They want to generate revenue from it. She wants to become a national leader but she needs to first win the bypolls. Further, time will tell whether Congress or others accept her leadership,” he added.

    Asked about Banerjee’s outsider remark, Puri said, “Priyanka ji is an outstanding candidate with excellent credentials. I have come here as a BJP Karyakarta. It is one country. You can go and contest from anywhere…campaign anywhere.”

    Banerjee on Wednesday said that outsiders are coming for campaigning for the bypolls like daily passengers as they did before the state assembly polls.

    Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Priyanka Tibrewal in Bhabanipur against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee fr the upcoming bypoll.

    The Bhabanipur assembly seat was vacated by the West Bengal Agriculture Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay in May, making way for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to contest from Bhabanipur seat.

    Bypolls will be held in Bhabanipur on September 30 and results will be declared by October 3.