TMC announces candidates for bypolls to four assembly seats in Bengal

Kolkata, June 14 (IANS) Trinamool Congress on Friday announced the names of party candidates for by-elections to four assembly constituencies scheduled on July 10.

The party has fielded Krishna Kalyani, who won from the Raiganj constituency in the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections on a BJP ticket, from the same seat in North Dinajpur district. He resigned as a member of the state assembly before the recently concluded parliamentary polls and was fielded as a candidate from Raiganj Lok Sabha by Trinamool Congress. He got defeated though.

Similar is the case with Mukut Mani Adhikari. Adhikari, who was also elected as a BJP candidate from Ranaghat-Dakshin constituency in Nadia district in 2021, has been fielded from the same seat. He too resigned as the MLA before the Lok Sabha polls after he was fielded as a candidate by the ruling party from Ranaghat Lok Sabha. He was also defeated.

The by-poll for the Maniktala assembly constituency has been necessitated by the demise of the erstwhile Trinamool Congress legislator Sadhan Pandey. Trinamool Congress this time has fielded Supti Pandey, the widow of the deceased MLA.

However, the surprise choice of candidate was in the case of Bagda assembly constituency in North 24 Paragans district, where by-poll has been necessitated because the erstwhile BJP legislator Biswajit Das resigned before the Lok Sabha polls. He was fielded as a candidate by the Trinamool Congress from Bangaon Lok Sabha. Das too got defeated.

However, instead of re-nominating Das, Trinamool Congress has fielded Madhuparna Thakur, the daughter of the current party Rajya Sabha member and former Lok Sabha member from Bangaon Mamata Bala Thakur. Incidentally, Madhuparna Thakur is also the cousin sister of the two-time BJP Lok Sabha member from Bangaon and the Union minister for ports, shipping and waterways Shantanu Thakur.

Detailed statistics of the assembly-wise results in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls show that BJP is comfortably placed in three constituencies -- Raiganj, Bagda and Ranaghat-Dakshin, while Trinamool Congress is in a better position in just one seat -- Maniktala constituency in Kolkata.