Kolkata: Ahead of counting of votes on Sunday following the Bhabanipur bypolls, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee will want to not just win the by-election, but win it convincingly. The TMC had won this seat by more than 28,000 votes in the Assembly polls. If the victory margin in this seat gets widened, the ruling party will use it in its “propaganda” across India.
The BJP’s experience is that it is difficult to win a seat in a by-election. Apart from Dilip Ghosh himself, the BJP had to lose to TMC in the Khargpur Sadar seat in 2019. The party is not optimistic about Shamserganj or Jangipur, where the election results will be announced along with Bhabanipur on Sunday. Mamata Banerjee’s rival Priyanka Tibrewal has portrayed herself as a “fighter” in the campaign. The ruling administration is under pressure as Priyanka Tibrewal has been fighting the West Bengal post-poll violence case in court and a CBI probe has been launched into alleged post-poll violence in the state.
No matter what is said in the election campaign, state leaders agree that Bhabanipur is a difficult place for the party. A top leader said, “Ordinary voters are less worried as by-elections will not change the state’s governance. The ordinary voter is not even interested in voting. That’s what the statistics say.”
Figures show that for Bhabanipur, this statement is mostly correct. Mamata Banerjee had won this seat in the by-election in 2011. When TMC candidate Subrata Bokshi won in the Assembly polls earlier that year, there were 1,35,641 votes in this constituency, which is 63.6% of the total voters. Bokshi quit the seat to make way for Banerjee seeking her maiden entry to the state Assembly. Later, when the Chief Minister became a candidate in the by-election, it was reduced to 95,064 votes or 44.83% of the total votes—19.04% less.
Ahead of counting of votes for the Bhabanipur bypolls, Lalbazar, Kolkata Police headquarters, is cautious. Special arrangements have been in put in place in police stations to avoid post-result unrest or violence. There are nine police stations under the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency. Each police station has been instructed to be vigilant, police sources said. Strict security has also been provided at the counting center in Bhabanipur.
Earlier, keeping in view the instructions of the Election Commission, a notification has been issued by the Kolkata Police. Section 144 will be issued in the vicinity of the counting center at Sakhawat Memorial Government Girls High School in Bhabanipur. At the same time, it will be ensured that there is no gathering or victory celebration in the vicinity of the counting center. Section 144 will be issued from 5 am on Sunday, i.e. before the counting of votes begins. This clause will remain in force till the end of the enumeration period.
At the same time, the Kolkata Police has issued a strict notice regarding gathering. Crowding around the counting center will not be allowed. Since Section 144 will remain in force, no more than five people will be allowed to gather together at any given time. At the same time, victory rallies will also not be allowed.
The whole of Bhabanipur is under a security blanket. Initially, the Election Commission had planned to hold the polls with 15 companies of central forces, but later, this was increased to 35 companies.
At the same time, the EC issued a notice for issuing Section 144 in Bhabanipur. There were no major incidents on the Bhabanipur bypolls voting day, except a few stray incidents. The EC conducted the voting quite successfully on the day of the election, and the EC will want to repeat that success after the results of the Bhabanipur bypolls are declared tomorrow.
Already, the Strong Room has been kept under tight security. Inside the house where the EVM machines and VVPATs have been kept, there are central forces to guard the house. On the other hand, Kolkata Police officers are in charge of security in and around the outer gate of the Strong Room. In addition, every police station has been asked to patrol outside the Strong Room. Watertight security is the goal of the Election Commission.