Bengal Bypolls: TMC Sweeps All 6 Seats Despite RG Kar Protests, Suvendu Says ‘BJP Needs To Give More Teeth To...’

Kolkata, Nov 23 (PTI) The “lies and falsehood” peddled against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by opposition parties BJP and CPI(M) failed to sway the electorate in West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) claimed on Saturday after sweeping all six assembly seats in the bypolls.However, opposition parties, including the BJP, insisted that the results did not reflect the “swelling public discontent” against the ruling party over various issues.They also underscored the need to strengthen their organisational base to counter TMC in future elections.Banerjee’s arch-rival, senior BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said the saffron party must strengthen its organisational base to convert public discontent into electoral support in the upcoming elections.“The BJP needs to give more teeth to the organisational base to convert the people’s discontent into votes in the coming elections,” Adhikari said.He also emphasised that the BJP must focus on strengthening its grassroots organisation to challenge the TMC in the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections.Abhishek Banerjee, TMC national general secretary and the party’s de facto number two, congratulated all six TMC candidates for their decisive victories.He claimed that the TMC had “defied the narratives created by the zamindars, the media, and a section of the Calcutta High Court to defame Bengal for their own vested interests”.“I bow before the people of West Bengal for democratically dismantling the 'Bangla Birodhis' (anti-Bengal), their fake narratives, and reaffirming their trust in us,” he said.Sudip Bandyopadhyay, leader of TMC in the Lok Sabha, credited Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the party’s success.“She can create magic in polls. People of West Bengal deeply love her, and they can feel how a state can progress through her development ideas, positive imagination, and farsightedness,” Bandyopadhyay said.Mamata Banerjee is an exceptional leader in politics, he added.Sukanta Majumdar, BJP state president, downplayed the significance of the bypoll results.“Bypoll results cannot serve as a reliable indicator. Whether the people are with the TMC or against them will be reflected in the upcoming assembly elections,” Majumdar added.Former WBPCC chief and ex-MP Adhir Choudhury argued that the results were a “foregone conclusion” because people were not allowed to vote.“The results were a foregone conclusion as people were not allowed to vote,” the senior Congress leader said.Choudhury also weighed in on whether the state’s women’s empowerment programmes, such as ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ and ‘Awas Yojana’, influenced the outcome.He claimed that people, including women, had “witnessed torture” and were “very much scared” and unable to vote.“They were very scared, worried and could not vote this time,” Choudhury remarked.The senior Congress leader further dismissed any connection between the TMC’s victory and the protests following the RG Kar hospital incident.“That (RG Kar incident) is a different matter. Now, after this win, Mamata Banerjee will try to say that whatever happened at the hospital is correct because her party has won. RG Kar was a spontaneous protest of the common people,” he said.CPI(M) Central Committee member Sujan Chakraborty also weighed in on the ongoing protests.He said, “The fact remains that people came out in the streets to protest the crime against a woman doctor on duty at RG Kar and attempts by the state administration and ruling party to obfuscate the gravity of the situation by shielding those responsible.” Chakraborty acknowledged the TMC’s victory but insisted that it should not overshadow the ongoing grievances of the people.“These two things should not be linked,” he said.TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee made no direct political statement but expressed her gratitude to the people of West Bengal for their continued support.“I would like to thank and congratulate the ‘Maa, Mati, and Manush’ from the bottom of my heart. Your blessings will help us work for the people in the coming days,” Banerjee said.TMC emerged victorious in all six bypolls, retaining five seats and wresting Madarihat from the BJP, further cementing its political dominance in the state.Despite the ongoing protests over the RG Kar incident, which had intensified before the election, voters did not appear swayed by the opposition’s narrative.The bypolls were held in six constituencies — Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai (SC), and Madarihat (ST) — following the resignation of sitting MLAs who had vacated their assembly seats after securing victories in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.The elections, held on November 13, were seen as a crucial test for the ruling party amid the politically charged atmosphere created by protests over the RG Kar issue. PTI SUS SCH PNT MNB SBN