Bengal: TMC's Alifa Ahmed leads by over 29,000 votes in Kaliganj bypoll

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress was leading by over 29,749 votes in the by-election to the Kaliganj assembly seat in West Bengal's Nadia district after 13 rounds of counting on Monday.

TMC candidate Alifa Ahamed secured 59,329 votes, while her nearest rival, BJP nominee Ashis Ghosh 29,580. Congress candidate Kabil Uddin Shaikh, backed by the CPI(M), slipped to the third position with 19,516 votes, election officials said.

Counting began at 8 am with the postal ballots. The process has been peaceful so far, they added.

With the TMC marching towards victory, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee congratulated the people of Kaliganj and expressed her gratitude to them.

"People of all religions, castes, races and walks of life in the area have blessed us immensely by exercising their right to vote in the by-elections to the Kaliganj Assembly constituency. I humbly express my gratitude to them. The main architects of this victory are 'Maa, Mati, and Manush'. My colleagues from Kaliganj have worked tirelessly for this. I also extend my heartfelt congratulations to them. My greetings and salutations to everyone," she said.

"Remembering the late MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed, I dedicate this victory to the motherland and people of Bengal. My colleagues from Kaliganj have worked tirelessly for this. I also extend my heartfelt congratulations to them. My greetings and salutations to everyone," Banerjee said.

The bypoll was necessitated following the sudden demise of sitting TMC MLA Nasiruddin Ahamed in February this year. His daughter, Alifa Ahamed, has been fielded by the party to retain the seat.

Voting for the by-election was held on Thursday, with a voter turnout of 69.85 per cent recorded till 5 pm. Barring a few isolated incidents, voting remained largely peaceful.