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Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Takeaways from Bengal bypoll: TMC wins big in Kaliganj, BJP says its strategy was on point
IN A big boost for the ruling Trinamool Congress months ahead of the state elections, the party retained the Kaliganj Assembly seat with a margin of 50,049 votes. While TMC candidate Alifa Ahmed won with around 55% of the votes, the BJP's Ashish Ghosh got half the votes, at 28%. The Congress's Kabiluddin Sheikh was placed third, with about 15.21% of the votes. The takeaways from the election: Beset by several scams, and facing anger over the scrapped teachers' recruitment exercise, the TMC heaved a sigh of relief at not just retaining the seat but also its votes. A senior TMC leader said: 'There was no question that the party would win. Our challenge was to hold peaceful elections, and maintain our lead and vote share, which we have done.' West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee posted on X: 'People of all religions, castes, races and walks of life have blessed us… The main architects of this victory are ma-mati-manush (mother, soil, and people).' She also paid tribute to Nasiruddin Ahmed, the late TMC MLA whose death led to the bypoll. Ahmed's daughter Alifa, a graduate and employee of a prominent IT company, was fielded by the TMC for the bypoll. 'I have got the blessings of every corner of Kaliganj,' the 38-year-old said after her victory. The BJP, which continues its replacement of the Congress and Left as the main Opposition in Bengal, said it was happy with the results as their voting share had increased. A senior BJP leader said, 'Generally, in a bypoll, the ruling party always has an advantage. Moreover, in Kaliganj, almost 48% of the voters are from the minority community. We were not expecting any exceptional results. We only wanted to see if we could consolidate the Hindu votes. In that, we have been successful to an extent.' Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said, 'The CPI(M) and Congress appear to have got some votes in minority areas, but our target was to consolidate the Hindu votes. Hence we concentrated on only 109 booths, where we got a large chunk of votes. We were successful in this strategy.' Once upon a time, Kaliganj was a Congress stronghold, with its current ally Left also winning the seat multiple times. In 2016, the TMC was defeated by the Congress from here. However, in 2021, the TMC won big from Kaliganj, and has now continued that. The small solace, if any, for the Congress-CPI(M) is that its vote share has seen a rise from 11.98% of the votes in 2021 to 15.21% in this bypoll. With the Left extending support to the Congress in the Kaliganj bypoll, CPI(M) state secretary Md Selim said they are taking heart from their performance. 'The TMC and Bengal ran an extremely communal campaign, but the people of Bengal realise that it will not solve their basic problems… We will gain more in the coming days.'
India Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Trinamool Congress's Alifa Ahmed wins Kailganj bypoll, defeats BJP's Ashish Ghosh
Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate Alifa Ahmed has won the Kaliganj Assembly bypoll in West Bengal's Nadia district by a massive margin of 50,049 votes, defeating her nearest BJP rival, Ashish Ghosh. The by-election was held following the death of her father and former MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed in February this to the Election Commission of India (ECI), Alifa secured 1,02,759 votes, while BJP's Ashish Ghosh received 52,710 votes. The Congress-Left-supported candidate, Kabil Uddin Shaikh, came third with 28,348 Alifa received around 9,000 votes less than her father's 1,11,696 votes in 2021, her winning margin increased. Nasiruddin had won by 46,987 votes in the last election, whereas Alifa surpassed that, seemingly due to a split in votes between BJP and Congress-Left candidates. Outside the counting centre, Alifa thanked voters for their support. She said, "This victory is because of people's love and faith in Mamata Banerjee's development politics."Responding to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's claim that Hindus didn't vote for TMC, Alifa said, 'I do not agree. We received significant leads from some Hindu-majority areas.'She added, 'We did not target votes from any particular community. We approached all voters. The results show people don't support communal division in Bengal.'advertisementWith PTI inputs.
The Hindu
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
BJP accuses Trinamool of ‘booth jam, rigging' in Kaliganj bypoll; voting continues amidst rain
In West Bengal's Kaliganj, one of the five Assembly Constituencies across the country, which went to bye-election on Thursday (June 19, 2025), allegations flew thick and fast. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, Ashish Ghosh, alleged that polling officials deliberately marked with ink on his middle finger instead of the customary index finger. 'This was done in a pre-planned manner. Initially, they did not put ink on my finger. Then they did, after I went back for it. But before I could say anything, they put the ink on my middle finger. This was premeditated,' Mr. Ghosh alleged after he cast his vote in a booth at Debgram in Kaliganj. The bye-election to the Kaliganj seat in Nadia district was necessitated after the passing of Trinamool Congress MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed on February 2. The seat saw a three-pronged contest with Mr. Ahmed's daughter Alifa Ahmed as the Trinamool candidate, Ashish Ghosh for the BJP, and Kalbiluddin Sheikh of the Congress, who fought in alliance with the Left front, in the fray. On Thursday (June 19, 2025), the BJP accused the Trinamool of 'booth capturing' at multiple places in Kaliganj. 'The Trinamool did not allow our polling agents in two booths. I have informed the Election Commission. Booth jam and rigging are part of the Trinamool's culture,' Mr. Ghosh said. However, the Trinamool candidate, Ms. Ahmed, denied such allegations and said the opposition parties do not have 'organisational strength in Kaliganj' and should focus on 'working for the people' instead. Rain mars polling Voting continued on Thursday (June 19, 2025) amidst pouring rain in the constituency. 'I am confident that the people of Kaliganj will stand by our side… However, we are fighting not just against two political entities today but also the adverse weather conditions. It has been raining heavily since morning,' Ms. Ahmed said. While there were no reports of violence, many local people alleged that they could not arrive at their polling booths due to lack of transport, including ferry boats. As of 5 p.m., Election Commission officials pegged the turnout in Kaliganj at nearly 70%. The number is expected to increase as the voting closes. Kaliganj has 2,52,670 electors in total, according to the revised electoral list published by the Election Commission on May 5. A total of 14 companies of central forces had been deployed in the constituency for the bypoll. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari took to social media to accuse the Trinamool Congress of displaying 'regional bias' and an 'anti-Gujarati mindset' in its letter to the Chief Election Commissioner dated June 18, 2025, regarding the selection of a Gujarat-based webcasting agency for polling in the Kaliganj constituency.
India Gazette
19-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
West Bengal: Mock-polling held ahead of bypolls in Kaliganj
Kaliganj (West Bengal) [India], June 19 (ANI): Mock polling was held at a polling booth in the Kaliganj assembly constituency ahead of voting for the Kaliganj bye-elections, which began at 7 AM. The visuals show election officials casting a vote and conducting a mock-polling drill before the actual polling begins. Pradyut Mallick, Presiding Officer at Booth No 171, Debagram DK Girls High School, in the Kaliganj Assembly Constituency, told ANI, 'Good arrangements have been made by the Election Commission. Security is also good... Seeing everything, we are confident that voting will take place peacefully... Mock poll is going on currently, and everything is going on smoothly... There are 1174 voters in this polling station...' The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) has fielded Alifa Ahmed, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Ashish Ghosh, and the Congress has fielded Kabil Uddin Shaikh as candidates for the by-elections. On Saturday, the BJP announced Ashish Ghosh as the candidate for the upcoming Kaliganj assembly constituency bypoll. Meanwhile, the TMC announced Alifa Ahmed as their candidate for the Kaliganj shared a post on their official 'X' handle and informed about the development. 'AITC, under the inspiration and guidance of Chairperson Mamata Banerjee, we are pleased to announce the candidate for the upcoming West Bengal Legislative Assembly By-election scheduled for 19th June, 2025', the 'X' post read. Bye elections in Kaliganj will be held on June 19, and the results will be counted on June 23. The seat became vacant following the death of TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed. On May 25, the Election Commission of India announced dates for by-elections on five assembly constituencies across four states. These include Gujarat's Kadi and Visavadar, Kerala's Nilambur, Punjab's Ludhiana West and West Bengal's Kaliganj. Bye-election will be held in Gujarat's constituencies Kadi and Visavadar to fill the posts of Karsanbhai Punjabhai Solanki, who passed away in February this year, and the resignation of Bhayani Bhupendrabhai Gandubhai. In Kerala, the bye-election will be held in Nilambur to fill the post of PV Anvar, an LDF-backed MLA who resigned in January this year. He was appointed convener of the Kerala unit of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). In Punjab, the bye-election will be held in Ludhiana West to fill the post of Gurpreet Bassi Gogi after his demise in January. (ANI)
