JOIN USTMC fields Mamata Banerjee for Bhabanipur bypoll, announces candidates for two other seats
The Trinamool Congress on Sunday announced its candidate list for the Assembly bye-election in West Bengal.
As expected, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been fielded from her erstwhile constituency of Bhabanipur in Kolkata.
As for the two other constituencies which will go to polls along with Bhabanipur, the TMC announced the names of former Minister Jakir Hossain from the Jangipur in Murshidabad district and Amirul Islam from the Samserganj seat in the same district. The ruling party in Bengal made the announcement by issuing a statement on social media.
The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) is pleased to announce the following list of candidates for polls/by-poll scheduled in 3 assembly constituencies on 30th September 2021 in the state of West Bengal. pic.twitter.com/KdShB8gJqv
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) September 5, 2021
Elections were not held in Jangipur and Samserganj during the last Assembly polls as two candidates died of Covid-19.
The bye-election is crucial for Mamata as she has to get elected to the Assembly within six months after taking oath as Chief Minister on May 5. If the bypoll at Bhabanipur was not held before November 5, she would have to step down as Chief Minister as per constitutional laws.
It became apparent that Mamata will contest from Bhabanipur after senior TMC leader and Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay resigned as MLA vacating the constituency on May 21. Mamata won from Bhabanipur in the 2011 Assembly elections when the TMC first came to power in Bengal. She retained the seat in the 2016 Assembly elections.
Mamata lost to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari from the Nandigram constituency in the last Assembly elections.
As for Jangipur and Samsergsnj, the TMC respectively fielded Hosain and Islam in the last Assembly elections. But polls were not held in the two seats when two candidates died of Covid-19.
The development comes a day after the Election Commission (EC) announced that bypoll at Bhabanipur and election at Jangipur and Samserganj will be held on September 30.
The BJP, however, is not happy with the announcement of the bypoll at Bhabanipur as according to sources it wanted to keep up the pressure on Mamata by delaying the bye-election.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh on Saturday questioned the neutrality of the EC.