BJP sweeps Siliguri, retains all three Assembly seats

PRASHANT ACHARYA

SILIGURI,: All three BJP candidates from the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad retained their seats, defeating their Trinamool Congress (TMC) rivals by comfortable margins.

Shankar Ghosh from Siliguri, Anandamoy Barman from Matigara-Naxalbari and Durga Murmu from Phansidewa were re-elected, each increasing their winning margins compared to the previous election.

Often referred to as the “Chicken’s Neck”, Siliguri plays a crucial role in shaping political trends in north Bengal. This year, despite a multi-cornered contest involving the TMC, Congress and CPI(M), the BJP candidates secured decisive victories in all three constituencies.

Meanwhile, TMC candidate from Siliguri, Gautam Deb, alleged EVM tampering and irregularities in postal ballots, and said he had filed a complaint.

“My result is not good, but the EVMs appeared to have been tampered with. We saw that machines were already opened and their battery levels were above 90 per cent, which is unacceptable. Around 250 postal ballot envelopes were also found opened,” Deb said.

Deb lost the Assembly election for the second time, having earlier been defeated in 2021 from the Dabgram-Fulbari seat by BJP candidate Shikha Chatterjee.

Earlier, after the fifth round of counting, BJP MP Raju Bista had expressed confidence that the party would form the government with a huge mandate.

After the results, Bista said, “I congratulate and thank the people of Darjeeling hills, Terai, Dooars and West Bengal for their overwhelming support and thumping mandate. This victory is truly ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’. It reflects the aspirations of citizens for a corruption-free, nepotism-free and violence-free West Bengal.”

He added that the victory marked “the beginning of a new era of transparent, development-driven governance” and dedicated it to tea garden workers, cinchona plantation workers, forest villagers and other marginalised communities.

Bista also said the mandate was for the youth seeking better opportunities, and assured efforts to create employment locally. He further described it as a victory for women and all citizens who had “suffered under the previous regime”.

No untoward incidents were reported during the counting, with law and order maintained by central forces and local police.

However, in Bagdogra, central forces were deployed at the residence of TMC leader Tanay Talukdar after locals gheraoed him over alleged issues related to road construction. Following the incident, several TMC leaders reportedly feared attacks, with some leaving the area.

Ambuj Kumar, general secretary of the Naxalbari Block Trinamool Congress, has resigned from his post, taking responsibility for the party’s performance in his constituency.

“I am resigning as general secretary as I have failed to advance the party in my constituency, for which I take responsibility,” he said.