TMC announces candidates for four bypoll seats

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress on Friday announced candidates for four bye-election seats going to polls on July 10.
In two seats Maniktala and Bagdah, widow of a former minister Sadhan Pandey and daughter of Matua Rajya Sabha MP respectively are among Trinamool Congress’ picks. The party also named turncoat BJP MLAs Krishna Kalyani and Mukut Mani Adhikari, who unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections, for the Raiganj and Ranaghat seats.

Trinamool has nominated Krishna Kalyani and Mukut Mani Adhikari, who unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections, for the Raiganj and Ranaghat seats, respectively. In Maniktala, late Trinamool leader Sadhan Pandey’s wife Supti Pandey has been chosen as its candidate.


In Bagdah Assembly constituency, Trinamool has nominated Madhuparna Thakur as its candidate. Madhuparna Thakur is the daughter of Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP and Matua thakurbari family member Mamata Bala Thakur and granddaughter of Matua matriarch Boroma Binapani Devi from Matua Thakurbari family. Another family member Shantanu Thakur became MP from Bangaon Lok Sabha Constituency in 2024 for the second time and became junior minister for the second term.

“It is a big surprise for me. I did not know initially. People started calling my mother. When we have been given such an opportunity, we will work for it. Matua Bhaktas are with us. We will do developmental work for the Matuas," Madhuparna Thakur said.

Another Trinamool candidate Krishna Kalyani, Raiganj MLA, who defected from BJP to Trinamool, after 2021 assembly polls, will fight from Raiganj seat.

“In the last three years I have done my work as a MLA. It is almost complete. People are happy with the Chief Minister's 74 welfare schemes which have been beneficial for people,” Krishna Kalyani said.

“Common people have voted for us and I hope to win this time,” Trinamool bye-election candidate for Ranaghat-Dakshin Mukutmani Adhikari said.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced bypolls to four Assembly constituencies in West Bengal on July 10. Four Assembly constituencies are Bagda in North 24 Parganas district, Ranaghat-Dakshin in Nadia district, Raiganj in North Dinajpur district and Maniktala in Kolkata. The counting will be on July 13.

The bye-election at Maniktala has been necessitated by the demise of the erstwhile Trinamool Congress legislator from there Sadhan Pande.

The former BJP legislators from these three Assembly constituencies namely Biswajit Das from Bagda, Mukut Mani Adhikari from Ranaghat-Dakshin and Krishna Kalyani from Raiganj, all of whom got elected in 2021, had to resign from state Assembly members before the Lok Sabha polls. All three were defeated in the Lok Sabha elections.