BALLYGUNGE: As the counting of votes cast in the by-poll to the Ballygunge Assembly seat is underway, TMC candidate Babul Supriyo on Saturday exuded confidence in winning the election and said the people of West Bengal are with Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee.
"I'm confident. The 41 per cent voters turnout here rubbished the opposition's unnecessary claim of false voting. Had that been the case, would turnout have been this huge? West Bengal is with Didi and TMC", said Babul Supriyo.
The by-polls were necessitated after former Union Minister Babul Supriyo resigned as the Lok Sabha MP of Asansol after resigning from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He later joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The Ballygunge Assembly seat by-poll was necessitated after the demise of state Minister Subrata Mukherjee.
Speaking on the Asansol Lok Sabha by-poll, Supriyo said, "Asansol has given me much love and I will always appreciate it. Shatrughan Sinha's victory is also certain. Before reaching the final phase of the result every moment is interesting and let's enjoy the journey."
The TMC has fielded yesteryear actor Shatrughan Sinha in Asansol, which has a substantial Hindi-speaking population, while the BJP has nominated Asansol Dakshin MLA Agnimitra Paul from the constituency.
In the state Assembly elections last year, Trinamool Congress (TMC) won 213 seats while BJP on the other hand garnered 77 seats in the 294-seat state Assembly.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Supriyo had defeated TMC candidate Moon Moon Sen by a massive margin of 1,97,637 votes, securing 51.56 per cent of the total votes polled. In 2014, Supriyo's victory margin was 70,480 votes.
Bye-election to a Ballygunge Assembly seat and Asansol Lok Sabha seat was held on April 12.
On the polling day, BJP's Lok Sabha by-poll candidate Agnimitra Paul alleged that TMC workers thrashed her security personnel and pelted stones at her convoy while TMC candidate Babul Supriyo alleged electoral malpractice by BJP.