The Trinamool Congress wrested Dhupguri from the BJP as it won the bypoll by more than 4,000 votes on Friday. Party candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy defeated the saffron camp’s Tapasi Roy, the wife of a Pulwama martyr.
The TMC registered 46.42 percent votes as compared to the BJP’s 44.13 percent. The bypoll was necessitated after the death of BJP MLA Bishnupada Ray. The win holds massive political significance ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In 2021, the BJP won this seat by 4,355 votes and the TMC has done the same this time by winning by over 4,000. North Bengal has been a BJP stronghold, as even in 2021, when Mamata Banerjee had an overwhelming win in the assembly election, the BJP dominated North Bengal. Hence, Dhupguri was an important electoral test for the TMC.
The CPI(M) registered 6 percent votes in the bypoll. In 2021, however, the BJP registered 46 percent votes, the TMC got 44 percent votes while the CPI(M)’s got 6 percent votes.
The TMC won the panchayat elections in Dhupguri as well with 47 percent votes, while the BJP got 38 percent votes and the CPI(M) got 13 percent votes. Data clearly shows that Dhupguri was dominated by the BJP and, when the counting of votes began in the morning, the saffron party was in the lead and the contest was initially a close one.
Mamata and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee both reacted strongly after the Dhupguri win. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Abhishek thanked the constituency for “embracing the politics of development over hatred and bigotry”.
Thank you #Dhupguri, for embracing the politics of development over hatred and bigotry. Saluting every AITC worker for their tireless efforts in connecting with the people. We're committed to leaving no stone unturned in ensuring Dhupguri's all-round development. 🙏🏻জয় বাংলা 💪🏻
— Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) September 8, 2023
Mamata, who is on her way to Delhi for the G20 Leaders Summit, said this was a historic win for the TMC.
I thank the people of Dhupguri for reposing faith in us and voting decisively in our favour in the critical by-election to the Assembly constituency. People in North Bengal have been with us, and trust our strategy of growth, inclusiveness and empowerment. Bengal has shown its…— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) September 8, 2023
Citing bypoll results across India, the chief minister said opposition bloc INDIA had won four seats while the BJP got three, which clearly shows who is ahead in the race before 2024.
The BJP, meanwhile, said it will review the results as BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said the party had retained its vote share despite a “hostile and oppressive TMC regime”.
The BJP may not have won the Dhupguri Assembly constituency in West Bengal but we are grateful to all the voters and karyakartas, who ensured that BJP holds on to it’s vote share, despite a hostile and oppressive TMC regime.The marginal win for the ruling TMC, just before the…
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) September 8, 2023
What worked in TMC’s favour?
Mamata and Abhishek have put a lot of focus on North Bengal since 2021. Abhishek started his ‘Nabo Jowar Yatra’ from this part of the state and made an effort to rectify organisational issues in the party leadership from North Bengal. He also declared that this area will soon become a sub-division, which could have had a positive effect.
Tapasi Roy, while being a martyr’s wife, could not compete with the TMC’s citizen-forward schemes while experts are saying the BJP had organisational gaps as well.
According to political experts, the TMC will try encashing this result and concentrate more on North Bengal ahead of 2024, as the BJP won almost all seats in this region in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP has to put in some serious effort on organisation, experts added.
Experts further said while there is decent support for the BJP in North Bengal, the party failed to encash that into real votes and has to work on that.
