Mamata Banerjee to contest from Bhowanipore seat in Kolkata; sitting TMC MLA resigns
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will contest the by-election from Bhowanipore seat.
Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, sitting TMC MLA from Bhowanipore constituency in Kolkata district, has resigned from the Assembly to pave the way for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to seek re-election from here.
Sobhandeb had won from Bhowanipore in the just held Assembly polls, defeating BJP rival Rudranil Ghosh by a margin of nearly 28,000 votes. He was among 43 ministers to join the new Cabinet of Mamata Banerjee. He was appointed Minister of Agriculture.
Banerjee won from Bhowanipore in 2011 when by-election was held. She retained the seat in 2016 elections. The Trinamool Congress supremo, however, contested from Nandigram in this year's election, but lost to TMC turncoat Suvendu Adhikari by a margin of over 1,900 votes.
Banerjee earlier said she will approach the court over alleged 'mischief' in Nandigram. Adhikari outsmarted Mamata Banerjee by a margin of 1,956 votes to emerge the winner in the constituency.
While Adhikari bagged 1,10,764 votes, Banerjee, his one time mentor, managed 1,08808 votes, according to the Election Commission. As per the rule, a CM and minister must become a member of the Legislative Assembly within six months from the date of swearing-in.
READ MORE: Nandigram drama: Mamata wins, then loses against Suvendu Adhikari