TMC wins 3/3 in Bengal by-polls, BJP's Dilip Ghosh loses prestige battle at Kharagpur

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) won all the three seats that it contested in the recently held by-poll elections in West Bengal. TMC surprised everyone by turning out victorious in the Kaliaganj and Kharagpur Sadar seat. In its electoral history, TMC had never won those two particular seats.Tapan Deb Sinha of the TMC won the Kaliaganj seat by defeating his nearest rival Kamal Chandra Sarkar of the BJP by 2,417 votes. TMC candidate Pradip Sarkar won the by-poll to Kharagpur Sadar seat by defeating BJP's Prem Chandra Jha by 20,788 votes. TMC retained the Karimpur seat as well with a huge margin.

READ | West Bengal Bypolls: TMC Wins Two Seats, Leads On The Other, While BJP Trails

Prestige fight at Kharagpur

The winning of Kharagpur Sadar is being seen as a prestige fight between Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh and TMC. Dilip Ghosh who was the holder of the seat till 2019, became a Member of Parliament from Midnapore following which he had to vacate his seat. The loss is being seen as a question mark to Dilip Ghosh's hold in Kharagpur as well.

0/3 is fine

"TMC had a vote bank. It swung towards us during the Lok Sabha elections. We have gained in vote bank from 2016 in Kaliaganj and Karimpur but yes it has come down in Kharagpur. It's okay to question me as I was the MLA. 0/3 is fine. We have lost around 10,000 votes, don't think it's major. At times, people look at the candidate, I'm still the MP of the area. Winning is easy, retaining is the tough part. Still sure that TMC will be wiped out in 2021" said MP Dilip Ghosh from Delhi.

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Salute Maa Mati Manush

The ruling party has also taken an unassailable lead in Karimpur with its candidate Bimalendu Sinha Roy winning over BJP's Jay Prakash Majumdar by over 24,000 votes. Hitting out at BJP and it's policies at the Centre, Education Minister and TMC heavyweight leader Partho Chatterjee stated that Dilip Ghosh's humility could be helpful to them next time. "In Kharagpur, we have never won. It's the victory of people. People have understood what a party BJP is. A lot of people got intimidated in 2019 by them. BJP persuaded them by fake promises the Adivasis, tapasis, tribals have understood BJP and realised that Mamata is the only alternative. This is also a victory of development. People can see what BJP is doing. Unemployment, selling of PSUs, economy in shackles, and all of these are a factor in the results. Salute Maa Mati Manush. Now our responsibilities have risen. The entire country can see that we have stopped BJP. We have to stay more aware now as the expectations on Mamata Banerjee by people have risen," said the veteran TMC leader.

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