I am 'Man of the Match' of this game: BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal on Bhabanipur bypoll

TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee defeated BJP's Priyanka Tibrewal by a record margin of over 58,000 votes after the end of 21 rounds of counting of votes that began early on Sunday.

KOLKATA: BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal, who was defeated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the keenly contested Bhabanipur by-election, on Sunday thanked the voters for their support and blessings and said that she will continue to work for them.

Tibrewal also called herself the “man of the match” of the Bhabanipur game because she contested the decisive election in Mamata Banerjee's stronghold.

I am overwhelmed by the affection of people and commitment of my party leadership and workers who put in many times more effort than myself.
I express my deep sense of gratitude..
I rededicate with greater vigour to be in service of people. — Priyanka Tibrewal (@impriyankabjp) October 3, 2021

“I am 'Man of the Match' of this game because I contested the election in Mamata Banerjee's stronghold and got more than 25,000 votes. I will continue doing the hard work,” Tibrewal said in her first reaction to the bypoll results.

I am 'Man of the Match' of this game because I contested the election in Mamata Banerjee's stronghold and got more than 25,000 votes. I will continue doing the hard work: Bhabanipur BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal pic.twitter.com/pAiQMutcHi — ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2021

Mamata Banerjee defeated Priyanka Tibrewal by a record margin of over 58,000 votes after the end of 21 rounds of counting of votes that began early on Sunday. Banerjee, the TMC candidate in the Bhabanipur assembly seat in south Kolkata, secured 84,709 votes after the 21 rounds of counting, as per the official data. 

Her nearest rival, BJP's Priyanka Tibrewal, got 26320 votes while Srijib Biswas of the CPI(M) secured 4201 votes.  

"I thank you all...sisters, brothers, mothers, everyone from India. In 2016, I saw that I got fewer votes in a few wards. 46 per cent of voters are non-Bengali..everyone has voted for me," Mamata Banerjee said. "3,500 central personnel were sent for this election. Bengal was watching it. A lot of conspiracy happened during the election but I thank people," Mamata further said. 

“People of Bhabanipur gave a befitting reply to the conspiracy that was hatched in Nandigram. I want to once again thank the people of Bhabanipur and West Bengal for today’s election result,” Mamata Banerjee said. She added that she will continue to work for the people. The bypoll win was crucial for Mamata Banerjee in order to continue as the state's chief minister.

As per the cumulative Election Commission figures, the TMC is also ahead in Murshidabad's Samserganj and Jangipur constituencies, where votes are being counted for the assembly elections. In Samserganj, TMC candidate Amirul Islam is leading by 3,768 votes after the fifth round of counting. He secured 19,751 votes, while his nearest rival, Zaidur Rahaman of the Congress, got 15,983.

Jangipur's TMC nominee Jakir Hossain is leading by 15,643 votes after the second round of counting. Hossain secured 25,572 votes, and his nearest rival, BJP's Sujit Das, got 9,929.

Voting in these seats was held on September 30. As the reports of Banerjee's massive lead came in, TMC supporters hit streets across the state to celebrate. On the other side, the state offices of the BJP and the CPI (M) wore a deserted look.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission wrote to the Chief Secretary directing him to prohibit victory celebrations and processions to prevent any incident of post-poll violence. Tibrewal, on Saturday night, wrote to the Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Rajesh Bindal, urging him to give orders to the police to take preventive steps to avoid incidents of violence after the declaration of the results.

The bypoll to the Bhabanipur assembly seat and two other constituencies in West Bengal and one in Odisha's Pipli was held on September 30 amid tight security and stringent Covid-19 measures. Mamata Banerjee had lost to BJP`s Suvendu Adhikari in the Nandigram constituency in the assembly elections held earlier this year.

The Bhabanipur assembly seat was vacated by the West Bengal Agriculture Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay in May, paving the way for Mamata Banerjee to contest the bypoll. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded 41-year-old Priyanka Tibrewal, a lawyer, against the TMC chief.

CPI(M) has fielded Srijib Biswas, who is also a lawyer. Congress did not contest the seat. Trinamool Congress had registered a landslide victory in assembly polls winning 213 of 294 seats in the West Bengal assembly.

The BJP had won 77 seats.