Ballygunge Assembly bypoll: TMC's Babul Supriyo wins, CPI(M) finishes second

Babul Supriyo, a noted singer and former Bengal BJP heavyweight, joined the Trinamool party recently. He contested the 2022 Ballygunge bypolls on a TMC ticket after the seat became vacant following Subrata Mukherjee's demise in November 2021.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Babul Supriyo won the Ballygunge assembly bypoll in West Bengal on Saturday after defeating his nearest rival of the CPI(M), Saira Shah Halim, by a margin of 20,228 votes. Supriyo garnered 51,199 votes against Halim's 30,971 votes.

Meanwhile, Saira Shah Halim, sister of actor Naseeruddin Shah and wife of noted CPI(M) leader Dr Fuad Halim has overtaken BJP's Keya Ghosh who bagged just 13,220 votes, thus lending some credence to the communist party's claim that it was on a revival path.

Kamruzzaman Choudhury of Congress pocketed 5,218 votes.

The by-polls, which took place on April 12, were necessitated as Supriyo resigned as the MP of Asansol after switching over to the TMC from the BJP, while state minister Subrata Mukherjee, who represented Ballygunge, died in November 2021.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee thanked voters from the Asansol Lok Sabha seat and Ballygunge Assembly Constituency for giving a decisive mandate to TMC candidates in both the seats, where by-polls were held.

Babul Supriyo, a noted singer and former Bengal BJP heavyweight, joined the Trinamool party in September last year.

A total of 15 lakh voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district, while 2.5 lakh people could vote in south Kolkata's Ballygunge. The counting exercise began at 8 am amid tight security.

(With PTI inputs)