As was expected, the ruling Trinamul Congress won both Bankura and Daspur seats in the Assembly bypolls which were held on June 12. But what must have come as a rude shock to the Trinamul Congress leadership, the margin of victory in both constituencies came down considerably. In Bankura seat in Bankura district, Trinamul Congress candidate Minati Mishra defeated CPI(M)’s Nilanjan Dasgupta by 15,139 votes.
In the 2011 Assembly poll, Trinamul Congress candidate Kashinath Mishra had won the seat by trouncing the Left Front candidate by nearly 30,000 votes. Ms Mamata Banerjee fielded Mishra’s widow Minati for the Bankura bypoll.
In West Midnapore’s Daspur Assembly seat, Trinamul Congress candidate Mamata Bhunia defeated CPI(M)’s Samar Mukherjee by 18,894 votes. In the 2011 Assembly elections, Trinamul Congress candidate Ajit Bhunia had won the same seat by a margin of nearly 26,000 votes. Here also, Ms Banerjee had fielded Bhunia’s widow Mamata for the bypoll.
The Trinamul Congress tried to make light of the drastic drop in the victory margin. Trinamul Congress general secretary Mukul Roy argued that percentage of votes cast in by-elections was usually less than that of the Assembly elections. Mr Roy also pointed out that the voters’ turnout in both Bankura and Daspur bypolls was low.
The bypolls in Bankura and Daspur had been necessitated by the deaths of incumbent MLAs: Kashinath Mishra and Ajit Bhunia.