TMC 2.0 is born, but will it find a place in the Sun?
It's official now, the Trinamul Congress (TMC) party has split, with the majority of 59 out of 80 MLAs opting out of the party founded and led by Mamata Banerjee.
Trinamul Congress has won the Kaliganj by-election in Nadia by an overwhelming majority.
Trinamul Congress candidate Alifa Ahmed got more than 51,000 votes while BJP nominee Ashis Ghosh got 23, 827 votes and Congress-CPI-M candidate Kabiluddin Sheikh got 17,062 votes.
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The seat fell vacant after the death of Trinamul Congress MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed.
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Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee thanked the people belonging to all walks of life for supporting her party. She dedicated the victory to ma mati and manus. She also thanked the workers for supporting the candidate.
She wrote in her X-handle: “I thank the people belonging to different religion, caste and creed for their support to us. It is the victory of ma mati manus. I also thank our workers for their tireless job to ensure the victory of our candidate.”
The by-election result has shown three things. First, Alifa Ahmed, Trinamul candidate has increased her lead and this shows the faith of common people in the party. Nasiruddin Ahmed had won the 2021 Assembly election by 47,000 votes.
Secondly, the communal card of the BJP has failed to unite the Hindu voters. “People in Bengal are in favour of development and are happy with Trinamul’s work. The communal card of BJP has no impact in Bengal. The more they play the communal card, the party will get alienated from the people,” said Kunal Ghosh, party’s state secretary.
Thirdly, the by-election has proved beyond doubt that Congress and CPI-M have lost their credibility. Their candidate Kabiluddin Sheikh has occupied the distant third position. The people have once again rejected Congress CPI-M electoral alliance. After 2011, the CPI-M has spent more than Rs 30 lakh after the deposit of their candidates were forfeited in the panchayat, Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
The by-election has shown the strength of Trinamul Congress’ organisation. Party’s MP Mohua Moitra, who is the district president has played a major role in uniting the party.
Miss Banerjee had played a masterstroke in fielding Alifa Ahmed. Not only is she the daughter of the deceased MLA Nasiruddin, she is a software engineer by profession and a zilla parishad member with a clean image.
The by-election was held peacefully. There were 14 companies of central forces, 20 Quick Response Teams and 6 Rapid Action Force besides 700 policemen for the polls.
Final Tally
Alisa Ahmed, Trinamul, 64,121 votes
Ashis Ghosh, BJP, 30,629 votes
Kabiluddin Sheikh, Congress-CPI-M, 21,996 votes
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