In what is interpreted as "a big battle of prestige", Trinamool Congress is all set to win Sabang Assembly seat in Paschim [West] Medinipur district improving its vote share. At the end of 12th round of counting the Trinamool has secured more than 80,000 votes, well above its share in the 2016 Assembly poll. There are four more rounds to go.
The difference between the Trinamool and its nearest rival, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI(M)), is nearly 50,000 votes. The Bharatiya Janata Party is in third position.
This is the first election in West Bengal after former Trinamool heavyweight Mukul Roy left the party to join the BJP. He led the BJP’s campaign in Sabang. For the BJP the challenge is to defeat the CPI(M) to bag the second spot. But even if it couldn’t , the BJP’s vote share has gone up substantially.
On the other hand, the CPI(M) securing the second spot without an alliance with the Congress would vindicate the stand of a section of the Marxist party that advocated against an alliance with the Congress. The CPI(M) contested the 2016 Assembly poll in alliance with the Congress.
The Congress, which dominated the Sabang constituency for many years, is a distant fourth. Wife of former Congress leader Manas Bhunia is the Trinamool candidate. Mr. Manas Bhunia has been winning the seat since 1991. He was defeated once in 1996.
Many interpreted the fight as a contest between Mr. Roy and Mr. Manas Bhunia, both of whom left their parent parties. Mr. Bhunia left the Congress to join the Trinamool in 2016.
