Trinamool Congress sweeps Bengal byelections

Byelections in six seats saw TMC retain five and win BJP's stronghold Madarihat, vacated after MLAs' Lok Sabha victories.

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The Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Mamata Banerjee, registered a resounding 6-0 victory in the recent West Bengal Assembly by-elections. The results silenced critics and opposition parties, who had anticipated a backlash against the ruling party due to widespread protests over the R.G. Kar Medical College rape-murder case and corruption allegations.

The by-elections were held in six Assembly seatsSitai (SC), Madarihat (ST), Naihati, Haroa, Midnapore, and Taldangra-vacated by MLAs who won Lok Sabha seats earlier this year.

While the TMC retained the five seats it won in the 2021 Assembly elections, it also managed to wrest Madarihat from the BJP, a significant gain given the constituency's status as a BJP stronghold in North Bengal.

The TMC's victory was emphatic, with candidates in Sitai and Haroa winning by margins exceeding 1 lakh votes. Sangita Roy, contesting from Sitai (SC), secured a landslide win with a margin of 1,30,636 votes, polling 76.08% of the votes. Similarly, Sk. Rabiul Islam triumphed in Haroa with 76.63% of the vote, defeating his closest rival by 1,31,388 votes. Both constituencies saw rival candidates, including those from the BJP, lose their deposits.