TMC wins Kaliganj bypoll; Congress-CPIM alliance and BJP see decrease in vote-share
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) secured a decisive victory in the Kaliganj Assembly bypoll, with party candidate Alifa Ahmed winning by a significant margin. The BJP's Ashish Ghosh came second, while Congress candidate Kabiluddin Sheikh finished third.
As of the 23rd round of counting, it was seen that both the BJP and CPIM-Congress alliance's vote shares had slightly decreased from the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
TMC received around 55 percent of the vote share for the bypoll, followed by the BJP with 28 percent and the Congress with 15 percent. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC got 47.08 percent, BJP got 31.67 percent and Congress-CPIM got 18.47 percent of the vote.
While the TMC had been confident of retaining the seat, the BJP focused its campaign on consolidating Hindu votes in an area where over 48 percent of the electorate belongs to minority communities. The party had invoked the Centre's Operation Sindoor and criticised what it termed TMC's 'appeasement politics'.
Following the result, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her gratitude in a post on social media platform X, saying, 'People of all religions, castes, races, and walks of life in the area have blessed us immensely… I humbly express my gratitude to them… The main architects of this victory are ma-mati-manush (mother, soil, and people)… Remembering the late MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed, I dedicate this victory to the motherland and people of Bengal.'
Alifa Ahmed, daughter of the late TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed, said, 'I got blessings from every corner of Kaliganj. I am happy.' Ahmed, 38, is a BTech graduate and works with a prominent IT firm. The seat fell vacant after her father's death in February this year.
Nasiruddin Ahmed had won the Kaliganj seat in 2011, lost in 2016, and regained it in 2021.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari commented, 'I don't have the final result yet, but from what I've seen, CPIM-Congress got some support in minority areas. Our goal was to consolidate the Hindu vote, and I believe we were successful in that strategy.'
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