Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will field a strong candidate against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Bhabanipur seat which is scheduled to go for bypoll on September 30, said party's state chief Dilip Ghosh on Sunday.
Speaking to ANI, Ghosh said, "We will fight the election strongly. There is no doubt that it will be a tough fight as Mamata Banerjee is a big figure and the chief minister of the state. She has control of the entire state. We will also field strong candidates in West Bengal.
On Saturday, the Election Commission has announced to hold by-elections to three assembly seats in West Bengal on September 30. These constituencies include Bhabanipur, the traditional seat of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, from where she will contest the by-elections. Besides Bhabanipur, bypolls will be held in Samserganj and Jangipur constituencies. The counting of votes will take place on October 3.
"We have defeated Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram. Her slogan that 'Bengal wants its own daughter' went flop. The people of Bengal have shown that they do not want Mamata Banerjee. But after that, she is trying to come through the back door. She made an elected MLA who is also a minister resign in the greed of position," he said
Mamata Banerjee suffered defeat at the hands of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari in the Nandigram assembly constituency.
Following this, the Bhabanipur assembly seat was vacated by the West Bengal Agriculture Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay in May, making way for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to contest from the seat. The election on the seat is crucial for Banerjee to win if she has to remain the Chief Minister of the state.
"We want the election to be held in a peaceful environment and in a fair manner. But, post-poll violence is still going on. Around 95 BJP workers have been killed. It is a matter of great concern that how the polls will be held peacefully when there is violence going on and all IPS officers are probing that forming and SIT," he stated.
Asked about the BJP's candidate against Mamata Banerjee, Ghosh said, "The party's election committee will oversee the matter. The suggested names will be sent to Delhi. After that, the parliamentary board will make the final announcement. However, in 2-3 days, the candidates of the West Bengal by-elections will be announced."
The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC registered a landslide victory in polls winning 213 seats in the 294-member West Bengal assembly. Despite aggressive campaigning, the BJP lost the polls but emerged as the second-largest party with 77 seats.
( With inputs from ANI )
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