Kolkata, April 16: Trinamool Congress candidates won the bypolls in both Asansol Lok Sabha and Ballygunge Assembly constituencies on Saturday. This is the first ever victory of a Trinamool candidate from Asansol since the creation of this Lok Sabha constituency.

Although the final margin of victory for both the constituencies are yet to be declared by the Election Commission, figures available from the counting centres confirmed the victory of Trinamool in both the constituencies. TMC Eyes Clean Sweep in Both Assembly and Lok Sabha By-Poll, Shatrughan Sinha Leads by Over 2.8 Lakh Votes.

In Ballygunge Assembly bypolls, Trinamool candidate and singer-turned politician, Babul Supriyo, defeated his nearest rival, CPI(M)'s Saira Shah Halim, by around 20,000 votes.

In Asansol Lok Sabha polls, Trinamool nominee and actor-turned politician Shatrughan Sinha defeated his nearest contestant, BJP's Agnimitra Paul, by a whooping margin of over 2.97 lakh votes.

However, Trinamool's victory margin in Ballygunge came down substantially this time compared to 2021, when its candidate and former state minister, late Subrata Mukherjee, defeated his nearest contestant, BJP's Loknath Chatterjee, by a massive margin of 75,359 votes.

Mukherjee passed away in November last year, which necessitated the bypolls in Ballygunge. Out of the seven municipal wards under the Ballygunge Assembly constituency, in the two minority-dominated wards -- No. 64 and No. 65 -- Saira Shah Halim was ahead of Babul Supriyo.

In Ballygunge, BJP's Keya Ghosh was in the third position, followed by Congress' Kamruzzamn Chowdhury. In Asansol, CPI(M)'s Partha Mukherjee and Congress' Prasenjit Patitundi were in the third and fourth positions, respectively.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Supriyo, as a BJP candidate, had defeated Trinamool nominee and actress-turned-politician Moon Moon Sen by a massive margin 1,97,637 votes from Asansol. However, after the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, Supriyo joined the Trinamool and also resigned as the Asansol MA, which necessitated the bypolls.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 16, 2022 05:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).