The Trinamool Congress (TMC) unveiled its candidate list for the forthcoming by-elections in six assembly seats across West Bengal, scheduled for November 13. The constituencies in focus include Sitai in the district of Cooch Behar, Madarihat in Alipurduar, Naihati and Haroa in North 24 Parganas, Medinipur in West Midnapore, and Taldangra in Bankura.
In this fiercely contested battle, TMC presented Sangeeta Roy for the Sitai (SC) seat, Jai Prakash Toppo for Madarihat, Falguni Singh Babu for Taldangra, Sujoy Hazra for Medinipur, Rabiul Islam for Haroa, and Senet Dey for Naihati. Meanwhile, BJP disclosed its candidates yesterday, nominating Deepak Kumar Roy for Sitai, Rahul Lohar for Madarihat, Rupak Mitra for Naihati, Bimal Das for Haroa, Subhajit Roy for Medinipur, and Ananya Roy Chakravarty for Taldangra.
The Congress and the CPI-M led Left Front have yet to announce their candidates. The uncertainty prevails over whether Congress and the Left Front will continue their seat-sharing arrangement, as seen since the 2016 West Bengal assembly elections. By-elections arise due to resignations following victories in the Lok Sabha elections by the incumbents from these constituencies. Excluding Madarihat, the remaining five were TMC strongholds in 2021. These by-elections are critical for both TMC and BJP, coming in the wake of public outrage over the horrific rape and murder incident of a junior female doctor from RG Kar Medical College. Outcomes of the by-election will reveal the extent of this incident's impact on the state's political landscape.
