Demonetisation helped to increase vote share in by-elections: Bengal BJP

KOLKATA: Bengal BJP has claimed that Narendra Modi's demonetization scheme has helped them to increase their vote share in the recent by-elections, the results of which were announced on Tuesday.

Interestingly, it is Mamata Banerjee who on Tuesday claimed that verdict given by the people in the by-elections was a nothing but a mass revolt against Narendra Modi's demonetization scheme. Trinamool has managed to retain all the two lok sabha of Tamluk and Cooch Behar and Manteswar assembly seat by increasing their victory margin hugely.

Elaborating their claim regarding increase of vote share in the November 19 by-elections, BJP Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh said during this year's assembly elections, they had got 12.29 per cent of the total votes polled in the seven assembly constituencies under the Cooch Behar lok sabha seat. "But our vote share in these seven assembly segments of the lok sabha during November 19 by-elections has gone up to 28.30 per cent which is more than double of what we had got in this year's assembly polls," Ghosh claimed. He also said that Left Front partner Forward Bloc which contested the Cooch Behar lok sabha by-elections, had got just 6 per cent of the total votes polled which is 26 per cent less than what they had got in the seven assembly segments in this year's assembly polls."

"At the Tamluk lok sabha seat, our vote percentage has increase three times than that of our vote share in seven assembly segments during this year's assembly polls. "During this year's assembly elections, we hd got 5.68 per cent of the total votes polled in the seven assembly segments of the Tamluk lok sabha seat. But in the November 19 by-elections, we have secured 15.09 per cent of the total votes polled in the assembly segments," the party chief claimed.

He said that vote share by the CPIM during the by-elections had decreased by 13 per cent compared to their vote share during this year's assembly polls.

At the Manteswar assembly by-elections, CPIM's vote share had reduced by 33 per cent compared to their share in this year's assembly polls, claimed Ghosh. "However, our vote share during the by-elections has gone down to 8 per cent compared to our share of 8.10 per cent during this year's assembly polls," he added.

Enthused by the increase of their votes in the by-elections, BJP has announced to gherao all the block development offices across the state on November 30 when the party will be observing their "Uththan Divas."