The Trinamool Congress (TMC) today took an unbeatable lead over its nearest rival by a margin of over 64,000 votes in Sabang assembly constituency, after 16 rounds of counting.

The final results of the bypoll that took place on December 21 are yet to be announced by the Election Commission.

TMC candidate Gita Rani Bhunia secured 106,179 votes whereas her nearest rival of the CPI(M), Rita Mandal, received 41,987 votes. Antara Bhattacharya of the BJP bagged 37,476 votes, and Congress candidate Chiranjib Bhowmick received 18,060 votes, West Midnapore district magistrate Jagdish Prasad Meena said.

The TMC fielded Gita Rani Bhunia from the seat after her husband and former Congress leader Manas Bhunia defected to the ruling party earlier this year, necessitating the byelection. Manas Bhunia is presently a TMC MP in the Rajya Sabha.