TMC chief Mamata Banerjee suffered defeat at the hands of BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in her bastion Bhabanipur by 15,105 votes. She got 58,812 votes while Adhikari, her former ally, accumulated 73,917 votes in high-stakes electoral battle.
Bhabanipur has long been considered a stronghold of the TMC, but this time the saffron party managed to make notable inroads into the constituency.
In the 2021 Assembly elections, the seat was won by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, who defeated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Rudranil Ghosh by a margin of 28,719 votes.
Soon after his victory, Chattopadhyay stepped down from the constituency. His resignation cleared the way for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to contest the by-election from Bhabanipur.
Banerjee had earlier lost the Nandigram seat to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, making the bypoll crucial for her to continue as the Chief Minister.
In the by-election, Banerjee secured a decisive win against BJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal, with a margin of nearly 60,000 votes. The result reaffirmed Bhabanipur’s reputation as a stronghold of the TMC, a position the party has largely held since 2011.
Despite this dominance, the BJP made significant efforts to challenge the seat. Led by Suvendu Adhikari, the party carried out an aggressive campaign, turning the contest into one of the most closely followed political battles in the state.
About Bhabanipur seat
Bhabanipur Assembly constituency falls under the Kolkata Dakshin district and is part of the Kolkata Dakshin Lok Sabha segment. The area is known for its socially diverse population, which plays a key role in shaping electoral outcomes.
The voter base includes a large number of non-Bengali communities, making up nearly 40 per cent of the electorate. These include Gujaratis, Marwaris, Punjabis and Odias. Bengali Hindus form around 42 per cent of voters, while non-Bengali Hindus account for about 34 per cent. Muslims make up close to 24 per cent of the population.
