West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has emerged victorious in the bypoll to Bhabanipur seat by a margin of 58,832 votes on Sunday. After claiming victory from her home turf, Banerjee said, “It is a victory against the conspiracy that was hatched to defeat me from Nandigram. I thank the people of Bhabanipur for giving me such a huge mandate.”
“This is the first time that we have not lost from a single ward in Bhabanipur. About 46 per cent voters here are non-Bengalis. They have cast their votes in a peaceful atmosphere. They have given me the inspiration and new energy to work more for people. We are also winning Jangipur and Samserganj seats,” said Banerjee. “There has been a lot of conspiracy to defeat me from Nandigram. Even a case is pending (on Nandigram results) at the court. But people have voted against this conspiracy,” the CM added.
“This is my third victory from Bhabanipur. In 2011, I won the bypoll by a margin of over 54 thousand votes. In 2016 Assembly polls, I had won by a margin of over 26 thousand votes. This time the margin has gone over 58 thousand votes. So, I have broken my own record,” Mamata Banerjee said.
Meanwhile, BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal blamed “fake voters” for their defeat. “If people were allowed to vote, the result would have been different. Even I got hold of fake voters on the polling day. In several booths, polls were rigged. But I will admit that our organisation was weak in Bhabanipur. We have to improve this,” Tibrewal said after her defeat from Bhabanipur.
The voting for Bhabanipur bypolls took place on Thursday, September 30 and the counting of votes took place amid tight security.