BJP leader Agnimitra Paul secured a victory from the Asansol Dakshin seat with a margin of 40,839 votes. She was competing against TMC’s Tapas Banerjee.
Image: X/vrtrahan_
A Durga temple, managed by the Shri Shri Durgamata Charitable Trust in West Bengal’s Asansol, was reopened to devotees after remaining shut for several years. This comes after the historic win of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2026 Assembly elections in the state, marking an end to Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government’s 15-year rule.
Notably, BJP leader Agnimitra Paul secured a victory from the Asansol Dakshin seat with a margin of 40,839 votes. She was competing against TMC’s Tapas Banerjee.
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#WATCH | A Durga temple, managed by the Shri Shri Durgamata Charitable Trust in West Bengal's Asansol, reopened to devotees after remaining shut for several years.
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BJP leader Agnimitra Paul won the Asansaol Dakshin seat with a margin of 40,839 votes. pic.twitter.com/CojN84s6mp
— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2026
BJP leader Nilu Chakraborty, who is a member of the mandir committee, told ANI that the previous government was a “completely anti-Hindu government”.
“After so many days, the temple has reopened, and all the Hindus in Asansol are happy… For a long time, we used to repeatedly tell the leaders of Delhi in meetings that a Hindu temple is here, but except for Durga Puja and Kali Puja, no one allows any puja to happen,” he said.
“The previous government was a completely anti-Hindu government, but today, when all the Hindus in Bengal voted for the BJP, the BJP has come to power, and this temple has reopened,” Chakraborty added.
As per reports, the temple had remained shut for a long time due to local tensions and was largely inaccessible throughout the year. Its closure was linked to tensions between local communities as well as administrative restrictions.
In the 2026 Assembly elections in West Bengal, the BJP has won 206 seats and remained ahead of the TMC, which managed 81. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has lost her Bhabanipur seat to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari by more than 15,000 votes.
The results have been declared for 293 seats of the 294-member Assembly, with repolling scheduled in the Falta seat of South 24 Parganas district on May 21, as announced by the Election Commission of India, with counting for that seat due on May 24.
The Congress has improved its tally from zero in 2021 polls to two seats, while the CPI(M) received one. The AISF and the Aam Janata Unnayan Party secured one and two seats respectively.
In terms of vote share, the BJP polled 46 per cent, followed by the Trinamool Congress at 41 per cent. The Left Front secured 4 per cent, the Congress 3 per cent, and others, including AISF and AJUP, accounted for 6 per cent.
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