Kolkata: The results of the Bhawanipur bypoll will be declared on Sunday and all eyes will be on the verdict here as it will decide the fate of West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee, who is in the fray from here. this seat.
Banerjee, who lost the election in Nandigram to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hero-rival Suvendu Adhikari, has to win the bypoll to retain her post.
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The Bhawanipur bypoll has turned into a battle of prestige for Banerjee, who is currently not an MLA and has to become a member of the state legislature by November 5.
BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal is contesting against Banerjee from this seat, where 53.32 per cent voter turnout was recorded on September 30.
The BJP had earlier lodged a complaint against Trinamool Congress ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee for allegedly “influencing” voters in Bhabnipur.
Accusing the ruling party in West Bengal of forcibly shutting down polling at a polling booth in ward number 72, Tibrewal earlier said: “People from outside are casting votes in Bhabnipur. We caught one of them in Khalsa Girls High School. But a TMC leader took the man away from the spot while the police remained a mute spectator.
He said the TMC was “doing scientific rigging to win the election”.
A minor scuffle broke out between Trinamool Congress and BJP supporters over claims of fake voters outside a polling booth in Bhabhanipur assembly constituency.
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However, the security forces on duty brought the situation under control.
Bypolls were held in Bhawanipur along with elections to two seats in Murshidabad district, Samserganj and Jangipur, where voting could not go to the polls in eight phases earlier this year.
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