<p>The BJP and TMC both faced setbacks in the results of bypolls conducted in Asansol and Kolkata.</p>.<p>While the BJP lost its two-time won Asansol Lok Sabha seat to the Trinamool on Saturday, the TMC retained Ballygunge assembly seat in south Kolkata, but with a sharp dip in votes with a section of Muslim voters, unhappy with Trinamool’s choice of candidate, voting for the Left.</p>.<p>Veteran actor-turned politician Shatrughan Sinha, who contested the Asansol parliamentary seat on a Trinamool ticket, snatched the seat from the BJP. Babul Supriyo, former central minister was elected MP from this seat in 2014 and 2019 as a BJP candidate. Despite coming to power in the state in 2011, the Trinamool had failed to win this seat so far. Sinha got over 56 per cent votes. Agnimitra Paul, as the BJP candidate received over 30 per cent votes.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/east-and-northeast/trinamools-babul-supriyo-shatrughan-sinha-script-wins-in-bypolls-1101304.html" target="_blank">Trinamool's Babul Supriyo, Shatrughan Sinha script wins in bypolls</a></strong></p>.<p>In Ballygunge assembly constituency, after the death of veteran politician Subrata Mukherjee in November, the TMC pitched Supriyo as its candidate. Babul bagged around 50 per cent votes (51,199). This is around 20 per cent less than Mukherjee’s 70 per cent votes of 2021 Assembly elections. CPI(M) candidate and actor Naseeruddin Shah’s niece Saira Shah Halim received around 30 per cent votes (30,971). The Left had stood third with around 6 per cent votes in 2021.</p>.<p>While one bye-election fails to predict a long-term trend, there are lessons for the political outfits - divisive politics is not a substitute for inclusiveness, and Muslims have registered their protest against the Trinamool’s choice of candidate. A third, by replacing the BJP at the second spot in Kolkata, Left has shown its ability to counter the Trinamool.</p>.<p>“For the BJP it’s a lesson. People no longer have confidence, and the mood is negative in Asansol. Bengal is delivering a message that such politics is undesired here. The party is also a victim of its organisational problems,” Shikha Mukerjee, political analyst told Deccan Herald. “In Kolkata, confidence of Muslim voters in Mamata as an agent of change that will impact the community across the board is declining. The rise in Left’s votes is an indication,” she added.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>
<p>The BJP and TMC both faced setbacks in the results of bypolls conducted in Asansol and Kolkata.</p>.<p>While the BJP lost its two-time won Asansol Lok Sabha seat to the Trinamool on Saturday, the TMC retained Ballygunge assembly seat in south Kolkata, but with a sharp dip in votes with a section of Muslim voters, unhappy with Trinamool’s choice of candidate, voting for the Left.</p>.<p>Veteran actor-turned politician Shatrughan Sinha, who contested the Asansol parliamentary seat on a Trinamool ticket, snatched the seat from the BJP. Babul Supriyo, former central minister was elected MP from this seat in 2014 and 2019 as a BJP candidate. Despite coming to power in the state in 2011, the Trinamool had failed to win this seat so far. Sinha got over 56 per cent votes. Agnimitra Paul, as the BJP candidate received over 30 per cent votes.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/east-and-northeast/trinamools-babul-supriyo-shatrughan-sinha-script-wins-in-bypolls-1101304.html" target="_blank">Trinamool's Babul Supriyo, Shatrughan Sinha script wins in bypolls</a></strong></p>.<p>In Ballygunge assembly constituency, after the death of veteran politician Subrata Mukherjee in November, the TMC pitched Supriyo as its candidate. Babul bagged around 50 per cent votes (51,199). This is around 20 per cent less than Mukherjee’s 70 per cent votes of 2021 Assembly elections. CPI(M) candidate and actor Naseeruddin Shah’s niece Saira Shah Halim received around 30 per cent votes (30,971). The Left had stood third with around 6 per cent votes in 2021.</p>.<p>While one bye-election fails to predict a long-term trend, there are lessons for the political outfits - divisive politics is not a substitute for inclusiveness, and Muslims have registered their protest against the Trinamool’s choice of candidate. A third, by replacing the BJP at the second spot in Kolkata, Left has shown its ability to counter the Trinamool.</p>.<p>“For the BJP it’s a lesson. People no longer have confidence, and the mood is negative in Asansol. Bengal is delivering a message that such politics is undesired here. The party is also a victim of its organisational problems,” Shikha Mukerjee, political analyst told Deccan Herald. “In Kolkata, confidence of Muslim voters in Mamata as an agent of change that will impact the community across the board is declining. The rise in Left’s votes is an indication,” she added.</p>.<p><strong>Watch latest videos by DH here:</strong></p>