West Bengal bypoll result: The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday registered a victory in the Dhupguri Assembly seat in the Jalpaiguri district by defeating its nearest Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rival. Trinamool Congress candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy defeated BJP candidate Tapasi Roy by 4,309 votes in West Bengal's Dhupguri constituency. Nirmal Chandra Roy received 97,613 votes against Tapasi Roy's 93,304 votes.
Nirmal Chandra Roy is a college professor while his nearest rival Tapasi Roy is the widow of a CRPF jawan killed in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021. CPI(M) candidate Ishwar Chandra Roy, who was backed by the Congress, was in a distant third spot.
Calling the elections historic, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said, "North Bengal is totally with us. We have won all Zila Parishad and Panchayat elections as well. Dhupguri was a BJP seat and we won the election. It was a historic election. I congratulate all the people of Dhupguri."
TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said the people of Dhupguri embraced politics of development over hatred and bigotry.
"Saluting every AITC worker for their tireless efforts in connecting with the people. We're committed to leaving no stone unturned in ensuring Dhupguri's all-round development," he posted on X. The counting was held amid tight security at the Jalpaiguri II campus of North Bengal University.
The polling for the by-election was held on September 5. A voter turnout of 78 per cent was recorded. The bypoll was necessitated after the death of BJP MLA Bishnu Pada Ray on July 25.
