Trinamool Congress Wins Assembly bypolls Despite Protests

• The Trinamool Congress won bypolls in all six Assembly seats in West Bengal, despite protests over a doctor’s rape and murder.

• The ruling party retained five seats it won in 2021 and wrested Madarihat in north Bengal, a stronghold of the BJP.

• The margin of victory for the Trinamool Congress candidate was over 1.3 lakh votes in some seats.

• The protests led to the government’s downfall when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was forced to transfer Kolkata Police Commissioner and officials of the State health department.

• The bypolls reflect the failure of Opposition parties to capitalize on public discontent and the failure of citizen groups to organize meaningful movements.

• Despite issues of law and orders and scams, the Trinamool Congress’s vote share has increased.

• The BJP’s vote share has declined since the 2021 Assembly polls, with the BJP losing all bypolls held since then.

• The CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Congress failed to make any mark in the bypolls.

• The Trinamool Congress leadership, Ms. Banerjee, allowed the protests to run for almost 100 days, holding meetings with protesting doctors.

• The results indicate the electoral supremacy of the Trinamool Congress, but the protests around the R.G. Kar incident serve no purpose.