West Bengal By-Election: Mamata Banerjee Secures Easy Victory Against BJP Candidate

The West Bengal state assembly elections were held in April this year, with the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) party winning by a landslide. She, however, lost her own constituency.

West Bengal state chief Mamata Banerjee on Sunday won the by-poll to the Bhabanipur constituency by a margin of 58,832 votes.

"I have won the Bhabanipur Assembly bypolls with a margin of 58,832 votes and have registered the victory in every ward of the constituency. I thank all the voters for the win. This is for the first time that we have not lost in a single ward in Bhabanipur", Banerjee said, greeting supporters outside her residence in Kolkata. "It is a victory against the conspiracy that was hatched to defeat me from Nandigram. I thank the people of Bhabanipur for giving me such a huge mandate”.

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Priyanka Tibrewal, who secured the second position, received 26,320 votes.

JUST IN: Mamata Banerjee wins Bhabanipur bypoll, wins by over 58k votes. BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal concedes defeat. pic.twitter.com/UL7KqyTrlE

— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) October 3, 2021

And the winner emerges out of her house. #MamataBanerjee shows the victory sign. pic.twitter.com/YZx9a9rEPC

— Tamal Saha (@Tamal0401) October 3, 2021

By-elections in Bhabanipur and two other constituencies — Jangipur and Samserganj — were held on 30 September.

Soon after Banerjee started leading in her constituency, TMC workers gathered outside her home to celebrate her lead in the key election.

#MamataBanerjee leading with 27505 votes.
Celebrations at #Kalighat infront of her residence pic.twitter.com/DaeCHDuRW6

— MANOGYA LOIWAL मनोज्ञा लोईवाल (@manogyaloiwal) October 3, 2021

#Watch| MLA Madan @madanmitraoff and tmc workers begins celebration as #Mamata Banerjee leads by 36457 votes after 13th round of counting. #Bhabanipur #ByElection #Counting pic.twitter.com/JJ1dmCwvwe

— Piyali Mitra (@Plchakraborty) October 3, 2021

Bhabanipur by-poll became a crucial battle for Banerjee, who is currently not a legislator and had to win this election to retain her position as the West Bengal state chief.

The West Bengal state assembly elections were held in April this year, with the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) party winning by a landslide, humbling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But Banerjee lost her own Nandigram seat to Bharatiya BJP politician Suvendu Adhikari. He used to be Banerjee's aide before joining the rival BJP.

As Banerjee lost her seat, she could only be the state chief for six months and had to be re-elected from any constituency within six months to retain her post.

Prohibit Celebrations, Ensure No Post-Poll Violence: Election Commission

The Election Commission of India has asked the West Bengal state government to ensure that no victory celebration or procession occurs during or after counting the by-poll votes.

It also asked the state administration to take all necessary steps to ensure that post-poll violence doesn't happen.

Earlier this year, post-election violence was witnessed in different parts of West Bengal after election results were declared on 2 May.

While the BJP claimed that nine of its members were murdered, TMC alleged that three of its workers were killed within hours of the poll results' announcement.

A fact-finding team has estimated that nearly 15,000 cases of violence were reported in the state within a span of several days after the election results were announced, with 7,000 of the incidents pertaining to the molestation of women.

A seven-member committee set up by the National Human Rights Commission looked into the incidents of violence.