Trinamool Congress wins Dhupguri Assembly bypoll, defeating BJP

More than two years after the saffron party had won the seat, the Trinamul Congress took the Dhupguri Assembly constituency from them on Friday.

By a margin of 4,309 votes, Nirmal Chandra Roy of Trinamul beat Tapasi Roy of the BJP.

The outcome demonstrates that people in Dhupguri preferred development over identity politics, a strategy the BJP had frantically tried to use to hold onto the seat.

"I appreciate the Dhupguri residents' confidence in us and their resounding support for us in the crucial by-election to the Assembly seat. People in North Bengal have supported us and have faith in our development, inclusion, and empowerment strategies. Bengal has made its intentions clear, and soon INDIA will do the same. "Jai INDIA and Jai Bangla!" After the results were announced, Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister, tweeted on X (formerly Twitter).

The CPM had kept the Dhupguri seat when Trinamul initially took office in the state in 2011.

The seat was won by Mitali Roy of Trinamul in 2016, but she lost to Bishnupada Roy of the BJP in the 2021 Assembly elections.

"Just like in 2021, Trinamul and the BJP faced off in the byelection. The BJP had won Dhupguri in the 2021 Assembly elections by a margin of 4,355 votes. A top political figure in Jalpaiguri noted that Trinamul's winning margin in the byelection was likewise narrow.

Due to the passing of the sitting BJP MLA Bishnupada Roy in July, a byelection was required.

As soon as the byelection was declared, Trinamul began to play the development card.

A number of Trinamul representatives emphasized that, despite the BJP winning the seat in 2021, the locals continued to benefit from all social programs implemented by the Mamata administration, just like people in other districts of Bengal.

The pivotal moment occurred on September 2, when Trinamul's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said that Dhupguri will become a new subdivision by the end of the year. He responded to a long-standing desire of the community that had gathered traction before the byelection, according to a political observer.

While Rajbanshis make up over 60% of all voters, the BJP, on the other hand, has turned to identity politics.

Vote turnout changed as a result of the promise of a new subdivision.

Trinamul received 43.75 percent of the vote in 2021, compared to 45.65 percent for the BJP.

In the byelection, Mamata Banerjee's party received 46.28 percent of the votes, compared to the BJP's 44.23 percent.

"This little vote change of two to three percent gave us the edge we needed to take the seat. It is fantastic that we got it back, but we shouldn't get comfortable since the BJP still received more than 44% of the vote in the area, despite the parliamentarians' poor performance. We need to increase our support base for the Lok Sabha elections, a Trinamul leader stated.

Abhishek, who had run for office in Dhupguri, too expressed his congratulations to the winning team.

"I'd like to thank #Dhupguri for choosing the politics of growth above prejudice and hate. I commend every employee of the AITC for their diligent efforts to build relationships with the public. We're determined to doing all in our power to ensure Dhupguri's overall growth. He wrote on X, "Joy Bangla! (sic)"

The declaration by Abhishek of a new subdivision, according to BJP candidate Tapasi Roy, "turned the tables in favor of Nirmal Chandra Roy."

"Some people supported Trinamul because they thought the announcement was accurate. We fell behind in this area, she remarked.

The outcome raised a concern about the BJP's state leadership. This is due to the fact that, since 2021, the party has not been successful in winning any Assembly seat when a byelection was held.

"So far, by-elections have been held in eight seats, including Dinhata, Santipur, and Dhupguri, which the BJP won in 2021. The state BJP leadership camped out in Dhupguri for days, but Trianmul ultimately won the seat, according to an observer.

The vote proportion of the CPM, which ran in the byelection with the Congress, hardly rose. Ishwar Chandra Roy, the CPM candidate sponsored by the Congress, received 6.52% of the vote, which is practically same to the vote percentage from 2021, when it was 5.73%.

The CPM contender finished third.