Bengal poll vital for BJP’s Mukul Roy sees 83% voting

Polling was largely peaceful in the Sabang assembly bypoll in West Bengal where 83% polling was recorded till 5pm on Thursday. VVPATs were deployed in every polling station.

The counting will take place on December 24. The main contenders are Gita Bhunia from ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Antara Bhattacharya of the BJP.

The Sabang bypolls are crucial as they will be a test for Mukul Roy, who switched to the BJP from the TMC early in November. The BJP is banking on the former railway minister to build the party’s grassroots-level reach.

For BJP, Bengal is a focus state for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, where the party wants to secure 22 of the 44 seats. It expects Roy to help put in place the machinery by the 2018 rural polls that will be a rehearsal for the LS elections.

TMC nominated Bhunia, the wife of Manas Bhunia, who won the seat in 2016 for the seventh time. In 2016, Manas Bhunia contested as the candidate for Congress-Left alliance. But he later switched to TMC. The seat fell vacant when the party nominated Bhunia in Rajya Sabha.

The BJP candidate, Antara Bhattacharya, was earlier with CPI(M) and served as the sabhadhipati of West Midnapore Zilla Parishad from 2008 to 2013.

“The people of the area have immense support for Mamata Banerjee. There is no doubt that our candidate will win by a huge margin. It may be higher than mine,” said Manas Bhunia.