TMC routed in North Bengal
Darjeeling: The TMC was routed in North Bengal with all the districts switching colour to saffron on Thursday.
Though the Election Commission has not officially announced the winners, the trend clearly indicates BJP's victory. All the eight constituencies of North Bengal have fallen in the BJP kitty.
In Darjeeling, counting had taken place in Kalimpong, Siliguri and Darjeeling. From the morning, the BJP had given the lead with TMC trailing. This trend continued till the end of counting. Except the Chopra Assembly segments, the BJP won in all other Assembly segments in Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency. The Left Front and the Congress also could not make a dent.
In Uttar Dinajpur, BJP candidate Debashree Chowdhury is all set to emerge victorious. The margin is expected to be more than 60,000. Though Mohammad Salim of the CPI(M) had visited the counting centre once, Deepa Dasmunshi of the Congress remained inconspicuous. Kanaia Lal Agarwal fielded by the TMC failed to check the saffron advance.
Chowdhury thanked the voters stating that she was confident of her victory. "People voted for a strong and stable government," added Chowdhury. Agarwal asked the TMC supporters not to be dejected and to start working for a victory in 2021 Assembly election.
John Barla has bagged the Alipurduar seat. At the time of filing of the copy, Dasarath Tirkey of the TMC was trailing by more than one and a half lakh votes. As the day advanced, the margin widened. "People have voted for peace. Peace and prosperity will return to the tea belt," said Barla.
In Cooch Behar, BJP candidate Nisith Pramanik is all set to emerge victorious, defeating TMC candidate Paresh Adhikari by more than 55,000 votes.
In Jalpaiguri, BJP candidate Jayanta Rai is winning in the seat. Bijayendra Barman of TMC was trailing behind by around 1 lakh 38,000 votes. Though Barman was initialing winning, in the later rounds Rai overtook him. This trend continued and the margin widened.
Balurghat was also bagged by the BJP. Sukanta Majumdar of the BJP has won the seat by a margin of around 35,000 votes defeating TMC candidate Arpita Ghosh. After 10 rounds, Ghosh had come out of the counting centre. She had blame organisational weakness and lapses for the defeat.
Malda, the Congress bastion, has also changed colours. Both the family members of Congressman Late Gani Khan Choudhury could not check the saffron advance.
In Dakshin Malda, the contest was between the BJP and Congress. Till reports last came in, Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury of the BJP was leading with Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury trailing by around 19000 votes.
In the Uttar Malda constituency, TMC candidate Mausam Benazir Noor trailed behind BJP candidate Khagen Murmu by more than 18000 votes.
"The Muslim voted for the TMC to escape from the BJP. The Hindus voted for the BJP to escape from the TMC. In the midst of this polarisation, the Left Front and Congress have lost all relevance in Bengal politics," explained Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
