Bhabanipur bypolls: Mamata warns voters against complacency; says 'my victory not assured'

Rousing her supporters to go out and vote for her in the Bhabanipur bypolls, CM Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday, highlighted them to not get complacent. Stating that her poll victory were not assured, she told her supporters to vote even if it rains. Assuring that there will be a TMC chief minister even if she loses, she said that it was destiny that she was contesting from Bhabanipur after losing from Nandigram.

Mamata: 'Cast your vote even if it rains'

"Cast your vote even if it rains. I will suffer if I don’t get even one vote. Don’t assume that my victory is ensured. Please don’t do that. If you want to see me as chief minister you must vote for me. Every vote is crucial. If I do not win, someone else will become the chief minister since we are in the majority. It is destiny that I am contesting from Bhabanipur again to become chief minister,” said Mamata Banerjee at a rally in Bhabanipur.

BJP pitches Tibrewal Vs Mamata

Taking on Mamata Banerjee, BJP chose its Bengal youth wing vice-president - Priyanka Tibrewal to take on the Trinamool chief at Bhabanipur. Anointing herself as 'Bhabanipur's daughter' as she was born and raised there, Tibrewal had said, "Bhabanipur nijer meyekei chaay" (Bhabanipur wants its own daughter), similar to Mamata's own Bangla nijer meyekei chaay" (Bengal wants its own daughter). Tibrewal had lost the Kolkata civic polls in 2015 and lost Entally seat in 2021 to Swarna Kamal Saha by more than 58,000 votes. Tibrewal - BJP Bengal's youth wing vice-president - is the BJP’s counsel in the post-poll violence cases in the Calcutta High Court. Her efforts led to a CBI inquiry into the alleged murders and rapes during the post-poll violence in Bengal. 

Defending the BJP's decision to field Tibrewal, BJP state chief Dilip Ghosh said, "We have pitted one defeated leader against another. Mamata Banerjee too was defeated four months back by BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari.  In 1984 Mamata Banerjee had defeated Somnath Chatterjee. Before that who knew the name of Banerjee".

Bhabanipur bypolls

EC announced that it will hold by-polls only at Bhabanipur on 30 September, upon the special request of the state government. Moreover, it will also hold polls in Bengal's Samserganj and Jangipur and Odisha's Pipli where polls were deferred due to death of contesting candidates in May. Bhabanipur - which is Mamata Banerjee's constituency - is currently vacant after MLA Sovandeb Chatterjee resigned after winning the seat. As Banerjee had lost her poll battle from Nandigram, defeated by BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, she has to be re-elected by November 5 to remain West Bengal's CM. The results will be declared on 3 October.