RG Kar fails to sway voters as TMC makes clean sweep in Bengal bypolls

The Trinamool Congress swept the bypolls in West Bengal on Saturday, retaining five seats and wresting Madarihat from the Bharatiya Janata Party, further cementing its political dominance in the state, even as the ongoing protests over the RG Kar incident failed to sway voters.

The bypolls were held in six constituencies — Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai (SC), and Madarihat (ST) — following the resignation of MLAs who had vacated their assembly seats after securing victories in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

These bypolls held on November 13 were seen as a crucial test for the ruling party amid a politically charged atmosphere, with protests over the RG Kar issue intensifying.

Despite the urban anti-establishment protests, the TMC emerged victorious across the board, in both rural and urban areas, continuing its winning streak in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Not just BJP, TMC also beat its INDIA bloc allies, including the Left Front and Congress, with such huge victory margins in the Haroa and Sitai seats that all the opposition candidates lost their security deposits.

Five of the six constituencies are located in South Bengal, a TMC stronghold, while Madarihat is in the north, which the BJP had won in 2021.

In Haroa, where over 70 percent of the voters belong to the minority community, the BJP came a distant third, prompting party leader Suvendu Adhikari to comment: “Minorities don't vote for BJP”.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Front, which had hoped to capitalise on the RG Kar protests to revive its fortunes, faced a crushing defeat, losing its deposit in Sitai, Taldangra, Medinipur and Madarihat.

Its ally Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist-Liberation too lost its deposit in Naihati, while the All India Secular Front faced the same fate in Haroa.

The Congress, which contested without an alliance with the Left for the first time since 2021 but fared no better, lost deposits in all six constituencies.

In Sitai (SC), TMC's Sangita Roy won by a margin of 1,30,636 over BJP's Dipak Kumar Ray who garnered only 35,348 votes. TMC's vote share surged to 76 percent, compared to 49 percent in the 2021 state elections, while the BJP's share plummeted from 45 percent to just 16 percent.

The Madarihat (ST) seat, previously held by the BJP, marked another significant victory for the TMC.

The ruling party's Jayprakash Toppo won by 79,186 votes, securing a lead of 28,168 votes over BJP's Rahul Lohar.

It is the first time the party has taken control of Madarihat, a key seat in the tea garden belt.

Differences between BJP's Alipurduar MP Manoj Tigga and ex-union minister John Barla over selection of the candidate seem to have cost the seat for the party.

The TMC's vote share surged to 54.05 percent, while the BJP's share dropped to 34 percent, nearly mirroring TMC's vote share of 34.13 percent in 2021.

In Naihati, TMC's Sanat Dey won with 78,772 votes, defeating BJP's Rupak Mitra by 49,277 votes. TMC's vote share increased to 62.97 percent, up from 50 percent in 2021, while BJP's share fell to 23.58 percent, a significant drop from 38 percent in 2021.

In Haroa, TMC's SK Rabiul Islam won with 1,57,072 votes, maintaining a commanding margin of 1,31,388 votes over Piyarul Islam of the ISF, who secured only 25,684 votes.

This result underscores TMC's dominance among minorities in South Bengal. TMC's vote share surged to 76.63 percent, while the ISF managed just 12.53 percent, compared to 57.34 percent for the TMC in 2021.

In Medinipur, TMC's Sujoy Hazra won with 115,104 votes, a margin of 33,996 votes over BJP's Subhajit Roy, who secured 81,108 votes.

TMC's vote share reached 53.43 percent, compared to the BJP's 37.67 percent, reflecting a similar outcome to 2021, when TMC had 50.72 percent and the BJP had 40.51 percent in this tribal-dominated seat.

In Taldangra, TMC's Falguni Singhababu won by bagging 98,926 votes, maintaining a margin of 34,082 votes over BJP's Ananya Roy Chakraborty. The TMC increased its vote share to 52 percent, up from 46 percent in 2021, while the BJP's share dropped to 34 percent from 39.9 percent.

Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee expressed her gratitude to the people of the state for their continued support, saying, “I would like to thank and congratulate the 'Maa, Mati, and Manush' from the bottom of my heart. Your blessings will help us work for the people in the coming days,” in a social media post.

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee congratulated all six TMC candidates for their decisive victories, claiming they had “defied the narratives created by the Zamindars, the media, and a section of the Kol HC to defame Bengal for their own vested interests.”

BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar downplayed the significance of the results. “Bypoll results cannot serve as a reliable indicator. Whether the people are with the TMC or against them will be reflected in the upcoming assembly elections,” he said.

The Left, accused by TMC of masterminding the prolonged doctor's protests, failed to capitalise on the public anger surrounding the RG Kar incident, losing in all constituencies.

Since the 2021 assembly polls, the TMC has won every by-election, except that in Sagardighi in March 2023, which was later won by a Congress leader who later switched to TMC.

With this victory, TMC's tally in the 294-member state assembly rises to 216, further consolidating its position. The BJP's tally drops to 69, from 77 in 2021.