North Bengal Elections: Parties Gear Up for Byelections Amid Lok Sabha Results Wait

North Bengal, India - As the elections conclude in six of the eight Lok Sabha constituencies in North Bengal, party leaders and workers have shifted into a relaxed mode, awaiting the results due on June 4. However, in Raiganj, the political atmosphere remains charged, with parties, particularly the Trinamool Congress and the BJP, still in poll mode.

“There is no relief for us as the byelection in the Raiganj Assembly seat will be held soon after the Lok Sabha elections,” said Basudeb Sarkar, the North Dinajpur district BJP president. He added that party leaders and workers have been instructed to continue their engagement with the public in preparation for the upcoming bypoll.

In 2021, Krishna Kalyani had won the Raiganj Assembly seat on a BJP ticket but later defected to Trinamool. Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Kalyani resigned from the Assembly and filed his nomination as the Trinamool candidate in the Raiganj Lok Sabha segment. “As the seat has become vacant, a byelection will be held,” said Kalyani, urging party workers to remain active and garner support.

Similar instructions have come from state leaders of both Trinamool and the BJP to the parties’ functionaries in four other North Bengal districts. Trinamool has fielded Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, Nirmal Chandra Roy, and Biplab Mitra in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, and Balurghat, respectively. Manoj Tigga, the BJP MLA of Madarihat, has contested as the party’s candidate in the Alipurduar Lok Sabha constituency.

A political observer noted that if these candidates win, the Assembly seats will fall vacant and byelections will be held. Both Trinamool and the BJP are expected to leverage their success in the general election to navigate the bypolls.

In Raiganj, a Trinamool leader stated that unlike other areas of the district, they had decided to keep their party flags across the Assembly segment. In Jalpaiguri, Trinamool district leaders will meet block-level leaders on Sunday to gather information about the party’s performance at booths.

Tigga, who also heads the BJP in Alipurduar, said he was campaigning for Khagen Murmu, the BJP candidate for the Malda Uttar seat. He expressed confidence in winning the Lok Sabha seat and urged leaders and workers to start making preparations for the Assembly byelection in Madarihat.