Bhabanipur Bypolls: Will Mamata Retain High-Stake Seat? Counting of Votes to Begin at 8 AM Today

Bhabanipur Bypolls: As per the latest updates, the Election Commission will begin counting of votes at 8 AM and the results will be clear based on trends by the afternoon. Notably, there will be 21 rounds of counting of votes in the Bhabanipur constituency.

Bhabanipur Bypolls: The voting for West Bengal’s Bhabanipur bypolls concluded peacefully on Thursday, Now the counting of votes will begin at 8 AM on Sunday. Now, all eyes are on this particular seat as Mamata Banerjee needs to win this constituency to retain her post. The fate of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be decided on Sunday. On Thursday, the Bhabanipur assembly constituency registered over 57 per cent polling.

As per the latest updates, the Election Commission will begin counting of votes at 8 AM and the results will be clear based on trends by the afternoon. Notably, there will be 21 rounds of counting of votes in the Bhabanipur constituency.

Bhabanipur constituency: History and significance

It must be noted that the Bhabanipur constituency was formed in 2011 after delimitation and it has been a stronghold of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) since its inception. Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence comes under this constituency.

As per the updates from the EC, the TMC won the 2011 West Bengal assembly elections on 184 seats and ended the 34-year-old Left Front rule. That time, Mamata Banerjee had not contested the polls.

This time, TMC MLA and then minister Subrata Bakshi had quit the seat to make way for Banerjee to contest from this seat. This year, Mamata Banerjee will have to win Bhabanipur seat to retain the CM post.

Bhabanipur bypolls: Who are the key candidates?

Mamata Banerjee: Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister retained the Bhabanipur seat in the 2016 assembly polls. Mamata Banerjee is also the contestant this year from this constituency.

Priyanka Tibrewal: BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal is contesting against Mamata Banerjee from this seat. She was one of the petitioners and party’s counsel in the West Bengal post-poll violence cases in the Calcutta High Court.

Srijib Biswas: The Left Front candidate Srijib Biswas also in the fight against Banerjee and Tibrewal from this constituency.

Voting percentage: The Bhabanipur assembly constituency registered over 57 per cent polling during Thursday’s by-election. A high voting rate at 79.92 per cent and 77.63 per cent was recorded in Murshidabad’s Samserganj and Jangipur seats respectively. The voting, which was held from 7 AM to 6 PM, was by and large peaceful, the EC added. A total of 6,97,164 voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in the three constituencies.