Bengal bypolls a test for parties to gauge RG Kar effect

In a State with 294 Assembly seats, bypolls in six constituencies should not create a ripple, but this time, all parties are waiting eagerly to see what effect the horrific rape and murder of a woman doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital may have on the electorate.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

While the Trinamool Congress is exuding optimism based on its "track record and organisation muscle", its chief competitor, the Bharatiya Janata Party is hoping that the public anger unleashed by the rape-murder against the ruling party gets reflected in the ballot box as well.

Bypolls for six Assembly seats in West Bengal are scheduled for November 13, with results to be announced on November 23. All the sitting MLAs got elected to Parliament in this year's Lok Sabha polls, necessitating the by-elections.

The constituencies up for election include Sitai (SC), Madarihat (ST), Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, and Taldangra. Five constituencies are located in south Bengal and Madarihat is the only constituency located in north Bengal.

While Sitai (SC-reserved), Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur and Taldangra were won by the Trinamool Congress in 2021, the BJP was victorious in Madarihat (ST). In the seats won by the Trinamool Congress, the BJP was the runner-up in four, while the TMC stood second in Madarihat.