Trinamool Congress ahead in West Bengal by-polls

Kolkata: West Bengal`s ruling Trinamool Congress candidates were way ahead of rivals in the vote count on Tuesday to the two Lok Sabha seats and one Assembly seat where by-polls were held on Saturday.

The BJP has emerged as a surprise package by moving up to the second place in two out of three constituencies ahead of the Left Front and the Congress.

Trinamool Congress nominee Partha Pratim Roy has taken a lead of around 94,000 votes at the end of third round of counting in Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat, while BJP`s Hem Chandra Burman was running in the second place ahead of Left Front partner All India Forward Bloc`s Nripendranath Roy.

In Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency, Trinamool Congress Dibyendu Adhikari Ahas left behind his nearest rival CPI-M candidate Mandira Panda by two lakh votes at the end of the seventh round of counting.

The Trinamool was also comfortably placed in the Monteshwar assembly seat of Burdwan, with its candidate Saikat Panja opening up a huge 76000 vote lead at the end of the seventh round of counting over his closest rival Biswajit Poddar of the BJP. CPI-M`s Md Osman Goni is Anow in the third place.

The Cooch Behar seat fell vacant after the death of Trinamool`s Renuka Sinha, while Tamluk has gone to the hustings as the incumbent MP Suvendu Adhikari became a minister in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee`s Cabinet.

Trinamool lawmaker Sajal Panja`s death caused the Monteshwar Assembly by-poll.