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Tag: Priyanka Tibrewal

  • Bhawanipore by-poll: BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal writes to HC over fear of violence after result declaration

    By ANI

    KOLKATA: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for Bhawanipore by-poll Priyanka Tibrewal has written to the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court seeking preventive measures in case there is post-poll violence after results are declared on Sunday.

    In the letter, Priyanka Tibrewal has sought strict orders from the Kolkata Police to take all precautionary measures to prevent any kind of violence post declaration of by-election result.

    “I, Priyanka Tibrewal, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from the Bhawanipore Assembly constituency is writing to you, requesting you to give a strict order to the Kolkata police forces to take all kinds of precautionary measures so that we do not witness any kind of violence post the by-election results on October 3,” the letter read.

    Referring to incidents of violence that took place in West Bengal following the declaration of result of state assembly polls in May, Priyanka Tibrewal said: “We have clearly witnessed an unprecedented massacre that took place all over Bengal post May 2 which has left the entire nation in shock and has given India– Land of Ahimsa a bad image in the eyes of the world and we are still suffering the aftermath of the heinous crime committed by the miscreants of TMC.”

    “Taking the ghastly scenario into reference, I, as a candidate for this by-election, humbly request you give a strict order to all the government enforcement departments to take extreme precautionary measures so that no innocent life is lost, no sexual crime is committed, no public is left homeless, no incident of arson is recorded and we live in a peaceful environment come what may be the outcome on October 3,” she added.

    The bypoll to the Bhawanipore assembly seat and two other constituencies in West Bengal and one in Odisha was held on September 30 amid tight security and stringent Covid-19 measures.

    Mamata Banerjee had lost to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in the Nandigram constituency in the assembly elections held earlier this year. The Bhawanipore assembly seat was vacated by the West Bengal Agriculture Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay in May, paving the way for Mamata Banerjee to contest the bypoll.

    Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded 41-year-old Priyanka Tibrewal, a lawyer, against the TMC chief. CPI(M) has fielded Srijib Biswas, who is also a lawyer. Congress did not contest the seat.

    Trinamool Congress had registered a landslide victory in assembly polls winning 213 of 294 seats in the West Bengal assembly. The BJP won 77 seats.

  • Bengal bypolls: Mamata Banerjee wins Bhowanipore by-election, Trinamool ahead in two Murshidabad seats too

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has won the Bhowanipore by-election by a margin of 58,389 votes.

    Banerjee, the TMC candidate for the Bhabanipur seat in south Kolkata, secured 84,709 votes, after 21st and final round of counting.

    Mamata broke her party’s victory margin record of 49,936 votes in 2011 Assembly elections, the year she derailed LF’s 34-year regime.

    The TMC was also leading in Murshidabad’s Samserganj and Jangipur where counting of votes for assembly elections was underway.

    ALSO READ: BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal writes to HC over fear of violence after result declaration

    Banerjee, the TMC candidate for the Bhabanipur seat in south Kolkata, secured 84,709 votes.

    Her nearest rival, BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal, secured 26,320 votes, while Srijib Biswas of the CPI(M) secured 4201 votes.

    Although Banerjee claimed victory in a press conference outside her residence, the EC is yet to officially announce the results as they are yet to compile the votes secured through postal ballots.

    “I want to thank the people of Bhabanipur, West Bengal and West Bengal, who were waiting for these results. The people of Bhabanipur have given a befitting reply to the conspiracy that was hatched to defeat me in Nandigram. I don’t want to say much on a sub-judice matter. The counting is over, and we have won the seat by a margin of 58832 votes,” she said.

    ALSO READ: EC asks Bengal chief secy to ensure no celebration over Bhawanipore bypoll results

    The chief minister had earlier lost the Nandigram elections narrowly to her former aide Suvendu Adhikari, now leader of the opposition from the BJP in the state assembly.

    She has since filed a legal challenge to the election result.

    After Banerjee’s defeat in Nandigram, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, a state minister, vacated the Bhabanipur seat to facilitate her return to the assembly from there.

    The TMC is also ahead in Murshidabad’s Samserganj and Jangipur constituencies, where votes are being counted for the assembly elections.

    In Samserganj, TMC candidate Amirul Islam is leading by 25 195 votes after the twenty-two round of counting.

    WATCH |

    He secured 91826 votes, while his nearest rival, Zaidur Rahaman of the Congress, got 66,631.

    Jangipur’s TMC nominee Jakir Hossain is leading by a massive margin of 64,529 votes after the twenty-one rounds of counting.

    Hossain secured 1,00,560 votes, and his nearest rival, BJP’s Sujit Das, got 36, 031.

    As reports of Banerjee’s massive lead came in, TMC supporters hit streets across the state to celebrate.

    On the other side, the state offices of the BJP and the CPI (M) wore a deserted look.

    Voting in the seats was held on September 30.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Bengal bypolls: Mamata Banerjee wins Bhowanipore by record margin

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday secured stunning victory from Bhowanipore breaking all the records of Trinamool Congress’ victory margin since the constituency’s inception in 2011 after delimitation. She secured victory with a margin of 58,835 votes with BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal trailing behind.

    “The verdict of Bhowanipore was a reply to the conspiracy that was hatched against me in Nandigram. The Nandigram election result is pending with the court. I secured lead from all the wards of the civic body in Bhowanipore,” said Mamata standing on the courtyard of her residence in Kalighat along with her family members.

    The TMC won two other Assembly constituencies, Samsherganj and Jangipur, where general elections were held after candidates died of Covid. The BJP candidate Milan Ghosh lost her deposit in minority-dominated Samsherganj while the Left Front’s candidates lost their deposits in all three seats.

    Mamata’s victory in Bhowanipore is said to be significant as she needed to get elected as an MLA to retain the chair of the administrative head of the state after her defeat in Nandigram in the recent Assembly elections. When the Bengal CM got 71.9 per cent of the total votes polled, her contender and BJP’s Priyanka bagged 22.17 per cent votes.

    Mamata’s reference to leading in all the municipal wards in Bhowanipore was found significant as the BJP secured lead from two of the pockets in the constituency in the recent Assembly polls which are dominated by non-Bengali voters who form around 40 per cent of the total electorates. When the BJP trusted their non-Bengali vote-bank in the by-election, Mamata made it clear that she made deep inroads in the saffron camp’s citadel.

    “She (Mamata) broke all records in Bhowanipore. In 2011, our candidate won by 49,936 votes and in the by-election Mamata won with a margin of 54,213 votes. This time, she broke her own record,’’ said a senior TMC leader.  

    Welcoming Mamata’s victory, BJP’s state president Sukanta Majumdar said, “Around 57 per cent of the voters turned up at the polling booths. It shows a large number of voters either did not exercised their franchise or they were not allowed to. We welcome those who supported our candidate and we will contest in the by-elections in the four Assembly constituencies which will be held on October 30,’’ he said.

    Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the poor turnout of voters showed a majority of the people in Bhowanipore had no interest in the by-election.

    While welcoming the verdict of Bhowanipore’s voters, Mamata announced candidates for four Assembly constituencies—Khardah, Shantipur, Dinhata and Gosaba—where by-poll will be held on October 30. Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, who won from Bhowanipore in the Assembly elections but tendered resignation to pave the way for Mamata, will contest from Khardah.

    ALSO READ: BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal writes to HC over fear of violence after result declaration

    Her nearest rival, BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal, secured 26,320 votes, while Srijib Biswas of the CPI(M) secured 4201 votes.

    Although Banerjee claimed victory in a press conference outside her residence, the EC is yet to officially announce the results as they are yet to compile the votes secured through postal ballots.

    “I want to thank the people of Bhabanipur, West Bengal and West Bengal, who were waiting for these results. The people of Bhabanipur have given a befitting reply to the conspiracy that was hatched to defeat me in Nandigram. I don’t want to say much on a sub-judice matter. The counting is over, and we have won the seat by a margin of 58832 votes,” she said.

    ALSO READ: EC asks Bengal chief secy to ensure no celebration over Bhawanipore bypoll results

    The chief minister had earlier lost the Nandigram elections narrowly to her former aide Suvendu Adhikari, now leader of the opposition from the BJP in the state assembly.

    She has since filed a legal challenge to the election result.

    After Banerjee’s defeat in Nandigram, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, a state minister, vacated the Bhabanipur seat to facilitate her return to the assembly from there.

    WATCH |

    He secured 91826 votes, while his nearest rival, Zaidur Rahaman of the Congress, got 66,631.

    Jangipur’s TMC nominee Jakir Hossain is leading by a massive margin of 64,529 votes after the twenty-one rounds of counting.

    Hossain secured 1,00,560 votes, and his nearest rival, BJP’s Sujit Das, got 36, 031.

    As reports of Banerjee’s massive lead came in, TMC supporters hit streets across the state to celebrate.

    On the other side, the state offices of the BJP and the CPI (M) wore a deserted look.

    Voting in the seats was held on September 30.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Bengal bypolls: Mamata leading in Bhawanipore, Priyanka Tibrewal in second position

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was leading by 2,377 votes in the Bhawanipore bypoll after the second round of counting on Sunday morning, as per the Election Commission.

    Banerjee, the TMC candidate in Bhawanipore, secured 5,333 votes, as per official data after the second round of counting.

    Her nearest rival, BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal, secured 2,956 votes, while Srijib Biswas of the CPI(M) secured 132 votes.

    Total 21 rounds of counting will be held in Bhawanipore.

    Voting in the seat in south Kolkata was held on September 30.

    Banerjee has to win this election to retain her chief minister’s post.

  • By-polls to Bhawanipore, two other Bengal seats amid tight security on Thursday

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: By-elections to Bhawanipore seat, where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting, and two other constituencies will be held on Thursday amid tight security and measures to tackle rain, officials said.

    The by-elections will be held in south Kolkata’s Bhawanipore, besides Jangipur and Samserganj seats in Murshidabad district.

    A total of 72 companies of central forces have been deployed in the three constituencies, of which 35 were sent to Bhawanipore alone.

    Three personnel will man each of the 287 booths at the 97 polling centres in Bhawanipore, an election official said.

    The Election Commission has asked the Irrigation Department to be on alert owing to inclement weather conditions and all polling stations were directed to keep pumps ready to drain out floodwaters.

    Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC have been imposed within 200 metres of the polling centres.

    Kolkata Police, which will be in charge of security outside the booths in Bhawanipore, has already set up pickets across 38 locations in the constituency, a police officer said.

    There will be heavy deployment of forces, including quick response teams, in Bhabanipur.

    Security has also been heightened in Jangipur and Samserganj seats.

    Votes polled on Thursday will be counted on October 3.

    Banerjee will fight BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal, and CPI(M)’s Srijib Biswas in Bhawanipore.

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

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Stringent security arrangements were in place in Bhabanipur 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 Bhabanipur 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 Bhabanipur, 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 Bhabanipur, 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 Bhabanipur 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.

  • 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.

  • Poll campaigning comes to an end in Bengal amid scuffles between Trinamool, BJP

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Campaigning for Thursday’s high-voltage by-poll to the Bhabanipur assembly seat in south Kolkata where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting as the Trinamool Congress candidate, and elections to two other constituencies in Murshidabad district ended on Monday.

    Scuffles between supporters of the TMC and the BJP and allegations of threats to saffron party leaders marked the last day of the campaign in Bhabanipur, while canvassing for the Samserganj and Jangipur constituencies passed off peacefully.

    Bypoll to Bhabanipur was necessitated following the resignation of Trinamool Congress MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay so that the party supremo can contest from the seat which Banerjee won in 2011 and 2016 elections.

    In the assembly election held earlier this year, Banerjee, a resident of the Bhabanipur constituency, contested from Nandigram, where the anti-farmland acquisition movement against the Left Front government had transformed her into a major political force in the state, to dare her former protege turned adversary Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP in his home turf.

    Though she powered the TMC to a resounding win for a third straight term in office, she lost to Adhikari by a narrow margin, and challenged the result in the Calcutta High Court.

    The case is pending.

    Banerjee now must win the by-poll to ensure an unbroken stint as the chief minister.

    According to the constitutional provision, a person has to get elected to the legislature within six months of taking oath of office as a chief minister or a minister.

    She took oath as the CM on May 5.

    Besides Banerjee, the BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal and the CPI(M)’s Srijib Biswas are contesting from Bhabanipur.

    The Congress has decided not to field a candidate there.

    Elections to Samserganj and Jangipur were countermanded earlier due to deaths of candidates.

    While Rezaul Haque, the Congress candidate from Samserganj, died on April 15, the RSP candidate from Jangipur Pradip Nandi, passed away a day later.

    In Samserganj, the candidates for the September 30 election are Amirul Islam (TMC), Zaidur Rahman (Congress), Milan Ghosh (BJP).

    The candidates for Jangipur are Jakir Hossain (TMC), Sujit Das (BJP) and Alam Mian (RSP).

    Votes of the three constituencies will be counted on October 3.

    Altogether 52 companies of central forces were deployed for the polls in the three assembly seats, an official at the CEO here said.

    Of them, 19 companies have been deployed in Bhabanipur.

    The central forces were personnel from the CRPF, BSF, SSB CISF and the ITBP, the official said.

    A BJP delegation met the West Bengal chief electoral officer on Monday and demanded deployment of central paramilitary forces at every polling booth and promulgation of Section 144 Cr PC in Bhabanipur constituency in the city during the by-poll on September 30 in view of the alleged attack on party leaders during the day and earlier.

    The BJP delegation also demanded that the CEO Aarif Aftab disallow Kolkata Police from having direct control to maintain law and order in the constituency on the polling day to ensure free and fair poll.

    Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, who led the delegation, told reporters the BJP delegation informed the CEO how the party’s Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh was heckled near Hanuman Mandir in Bhabanipur during the day and had to return without campaigning.

    “In a second incident, our former state president Dilip Ghosh was attacked by the same people who enjoyed the patronage of a family in the area. We have reported it to the CEO,” he said.

    Campaigning for the by-poll, in which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is a candidate, came to an end on Monday and was marked by rising of political temperatures.

    The BJP MP said it was seen whenever there is a possibility of high voter turnout, the TMC resorts to such terror tactics.

    “We therefore urged the CEO to ensure that central forces are deployed in each booth and section 144 CRPC is enforced in the entire constituency”.

    Asked about Ghosh’s demand for countermanding the by-poll in Bhabanipur, Dasgupta said “We want free and fair polls.

    What Dilip Ghosh said about countermanding Bhabanipur by-poll till the situation in the constituency returns to normal is based on his apprehension and real perception about the scope of holding free and fair polls.

    “We want the Election Commission to take steps to instill confidence among people about holding elections without fear.

    We asked the chief electoral officer to see that the Kolkata Police is not in direct charge of holding polls,” he said.

    BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh was on Monday pushed and heckled by alleged TMC supporters, prompting his security officer to whip out a pistol in Bhabanipur assembly constituency.

    The EC sought a report on the incident from the state.

    Party MP Arjun Singh faced ‘go-back’ slogans from the ruling TMC workers while soliciting votes for party candidate Pryanka Tibrewal.

    The incident involving Ghosh occurred when he inside a vaccination camp in Jodubabur Bazaar area in the constituency.

    TMC supporters present at the spot shouted slogans demanding that he leave, alleging that he was campaigning at a state-run vaccination programme which was not permitted.

    Ghosh was whisked away by his security guards.

    He later alleged TMC supporters “attacked” him without provocation and injured a BJP activist.

    Dasgupta said the CEO’s office was asked to ensure live streaming through weblink of the entire constituency for immediate action by central forces.

  • 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%

  • Ready to resign from membership of Lok Sabha, would like to see Mamata as PM candidate: Babul Supriyo

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA: A day after his staggering move defecting to the TMC from the BJP, former Union minister and Asansol MP Babul Supriyo said on Sunday that he is all set to resign from membership of Lok Sabha and if the Speaker gives him time, he will tender his resignation on Wednesday.

    The former flamboyant face of the saffron camp, the latest turncoat in the Trinamool Congress camp, said he would request the party not to put him in an embarrassing situation by engaging him in the Bhowanipore by-election campaign against BJP’s candidate Priyanka Tibrewal who is contesting against chief minister Mamata Banerjee. His request came after Priyanka on Sunday said she would request Supriyo not to campaign against his ‘sister’.

    “Priyanka is a woman with a spirit to fight. I have a family relation with her. I will request the party not to embarrass me by asking me to campaign against her in Bhowanipore. Besides, my presence in poll campaign is not at all required in a constituency where Mamata Banerjee is contesting,’’ said Supriyo.

    Babul thanked Mamata and the TMC for giving him a chance in the “playing 11”.

    “I always want to be part of playing 11, instead of sitting on the reserve bench. I thank Mamatadidi and Abhishek Banerjee (TMC’s national general secretary) for giving me a chance,” he added.

    The singer-turned-politician never missed an opportunity to launch a blistering attack on Mamata and Abhishek on several issues during the campaign in the recent Assembly elections. Twenty-four hours after shifting his political allegiance, he made it clear that Mamata is the face of the opposition against the BJP nationwide and he would like to see her as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the 2024 general elections.

    “I will like to see a popular face as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and Mamata Banerjee is one of them,’’ he said.

    A war of words between the two-term MP from Asansol and BJP functionaries broke out within 24 hours of Supriyo’s defection.

    Referring to BJP’s state president Dilip Ghosh’s comment labeling Supriyo as a political tourist who join politics to earn money, the former Union minister hit back saying, “I will present him (Ghosh) a barnaporichoy book (a Bengali primer) so that he can bring some decency in his statement.”

    Supriyo also raised his objection on BJP leader Tathagata Roy’s remark describing him as a traitor.