TMC wins West Bengal bypolls

Mamatabala Thakur won the Bongaon seat with a margin of 2,11,000 votes

At a time when the CBI investigation into Saradha scam seemed to have cornered the Mamata Banerjee-government, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) passed the electoral test in Bongaon Lok Sabha constituency and Krishnagunj assembly seat with flying colours.

TMC candidate, Mamatabala Thakur, created a record by winning the Bongaon seat with a margin of 2,11,000 votes. CPI(M) was in the second position while BJP which pulled in more votes in both the seats since the last elections, finished third.

In Krishnagunj, the ruling party candidate, Satyajit Biswas, won by more than 37,000 votes. The BJP got almost more than double the votes in this seat, but most of the gains were at the expense of the CPI(M). TMC, on the other hand, lost just about a 1,000 votes.

The results enthused TMC Chief, Mamata Banerjee. She tweeted even before the official results were declared in Bongaon, saying, "This is a miracle result. People's magic...They have bowled all controversies out."

Banerjee was under immense pressure with the CBI probe into Saradha and rumblings within the party. All-India general secretary, Mukul Roy, who was is typically in charge of managing elections, had distanced himself from the leadership.

Roy, who had been summoned by the CBI about a fortnight back, was vocal in his opinion about the probe. He had said that he would extend his support to the probe, which was in sharp contrast to his party's views. Banerjee had maintained that the central agency was being used by the BJP as a political tool.

Speculation was rife that Roy could break away from the party. On Saturday, Banerjee appointed an additional general secretary, largely being read as a move to clip Roy's wings.

Today, after the results however, Banerjee said that the Trinamool Congress was intact and a strong party. "We are together. We are a united family."

The record margin in Bongaon was especially surprising given that the BJP had fielded Subrata Thakur from the Matua organisation. Subrata was earlier a member of the Trinamool-run panchayat samity in North 24 Parganas. His father, Manjul Krishna Thakur, was a minister in the Mamata Banerjee government, but recently quit and joined the BJP. TMC, on the other hand, had fielded Mamatabala Thakur, widow of Kapil Krishna Thakur, who was the head of the Matua organisation.

Though Mamatabala's win did not come as a surprise, the BJP was expected to be a close second. But a stronger than expected CPI(M) upset the results.