West Bengal: TMC wrests Dhupguri assembly seat from BJP in bypoll

The Trinamool Congress has wrested from the BJP the Dhupguri assembly seat in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district, in the recently held by-election.

Trinamool candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy, emerged victorious with 97,613 (over 46 per cent, of votes polled) votes, with BJP candidate Tapasi Roy getting 93,304 (over 44 per cent) votes. A narrow margin of 4309 votes made the difference. The Congress-backed CPI(M) candidate Iswar Chandra Roy stood a distant-third (with over six per cent votes).

The election was necessitated by the untimely demise of BJP MLA Bishnu Pada Ray. In the 2021 assembly elections, Ray had bagged over 45 per cent votes, defeating Trinamool’s Mitali Roy (with over 43 per cent votes), who had been the MLA since 2016. The BJP’s victory, then, had a narrow margin of 4,355 votes.

The by-election victory for the Trinamool  follows its thumping performance in the recently held panchayat elections, and also follows up the party’s allegiance offered to I.N.D.I.A, the pan-India anti-BJP alliance.

Interestingly, the national alliance didn’t deter the CPI (M) to field a candidate, backed by the Congress Party, in the fray. The fight in the constituency, as was apparent, was a straight one between the BJP, and the Trinamool. 

While the by-election result with a narrow margin between the two parties falls short of being considered for any emerging voting pattern in the region, the fact that the Trinamool has reclaimed a seat in north Bengal – a region where the BJP has had strong performances in 2019 Lok Sabha,  2021 Vidhan Sabha elections – has given the Trinamool a reason to rejoice. 

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, extending her gratitude to the constituency’s voters for “reposing faith” in the “critical by-election”, stated: “People in North Bengal have been with us, and trust our strategy of growth, inclusiveness and empowerment. Bengal has shown its mandate, and soon INDIA too will show its preference…”

BJP’s West Bengal co-incharge Amit Malviya, in a tweet, thanked voters and party workers for ensuring that the party “holds on to its vote share”. The “marginal win” for the Trinamool, before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Malviya considered “an indication of times ahead”.