KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress leader Gita Rani Bhunia has won the Sabang bypoll in West Bengal. Counting for the election was held on Sunday.
- While TMC had fielded Gita Rani Bhunia from the seat, Antara Bhattacharya was the BJP candidate
- Congress fielded Chiranjib Bhowmick, a local leader. Rita Mandal of the CPI(M) contested as a Left Front candidate.
- Manas Bhunia, had won the seat in last year's assembly poll on a Congress ticket but had defected to the Mamata Banerjee-led party earlier this year necessitating the byelection.
- Voting for the bypoll was held on 22 December with estimated 84.5 per cent votes being cast.
On the voting day, opposition CPI(M) and BJP had accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of driving away their election agents from the polling booths.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh criticised TMC for resorting to terror during the polls and said "The election results will not reflect the real mandate of the people. The people of Sabang could not vote freely and fairly due to the terror tactics of TMC." He was echoed by the Congress and the CPI(M).
"The TMC has been doing this in each and every election. They know that they will lose Sabang and that is why they resorted to violence," Leader of opposition and state Congress leader Abdul Mannan said.
The TMC, however, denied the allegations and said the people have voted in favour of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's developmental politics. "The allegation made by the opposition parties is completely baseless. Voting is peaceful in the constituency," TMC Rajya Sabha MP Manas Bhunia, who is a former Congress MLA said.
