Confusion over NRC the reason behind bypoll defeat: BJP candidate
TMC won all three assembly seats in West Bengal
Kolkata, Nov 28: In the midst of Bengal BJP unit trying to put up a brave face as the ruling TMC won in all the three constituencies where the bypolls were held, one of its candidates said on Thursday that confusion over the proposed implementation of NRC has cost BJP seats.
BJP has claimed that the by poll results will not have a bearing on state politics.
The TMC on Thursday won all the three assembly seats of Kaliaganj, Kharagpur Sadar and Karimur, bypolls for which were held on Monday.
ALSO READ: West Bengal bypolls : TMC bags all three seats
BJP Kaliaganj candidate Kamal Chandra Sarkar Thursday said, "We have lost despite having a massive lead in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. We lost as there has been serious confusion over implementation of NRC in Bengal. People didn't accept this narrative over NRC and we too failed to reach out to the masses on this issue. There has to be instrospection."
Reacting to BJP's dismal performance in bypolls, the president of the party's West Bengal unit, Dilip Ghosh said there will be introspection.
"We need to look into the results. But we don't think it will have any bearing on the growth of BJP in Bengal.
Actually during bypolls it is a general trend that those who are in the government win it," Ghosh said.
Asked whether the bypoll result is a reflection of people's anger and confusion over the proposed NRC in the state, Ghosh replied in the negative.
"Why should NRC be an issue? In 2019 (parliamentary) polls too the NRC issue was there, but we had won. So it won't be right to blame NRC issue for our defeat. Maybe there was anger over selection of candidates," he said.
Tapan Deb Sinha of the Trinamool Congress won the Kaliaganj seat in a close contest, defeating his nearest BJP rival Kamal Chandra Sarkar by 2,418 votes, EC officials said.
Kaliaganj is an assembly segment under Raiganj Lok Sabha constituency, which the BJP had won barely a few months ago. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP had a lead of over 56,000 votes in this assembly segment.
TMC's Pradip Sarkar wrested Kharagpur Sadar seat from BJP. He defeated Premchandra Jha of the saffron party by a comfortable margin of 20,788 votes. The BJP had a lead of nearly 45,000 votes in this seat during the Lok Sabha polls.
The loss in Kharagpur Sadar came as a shock for the BJP as Ghosh was the MLA from there before he got elected to the Lok Sabha from Medinipur.
Kharagpur Sadar in an assembly segment in Medinipur Lok Sabha constituency.
TMC nominee for Karimpur Bimalendu Sinha Roy too won by over 24,000 votes defeating his BJP rival Jaiprakash Majumdar. TMC MP Mohua Mitra had bagged Karimpur in the last polls before she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Krishnanagar.
This is the first time that the TMC has bagged the Kaliaganj and Kharagpur seats.
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Four arrested for abduction of 19-yr-old college student; Rs 50,000 ransom bid foiled in Bengaluru
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Bengaluru (PTI): Four people, former and senior students of the same college, were arrested for allegedly abducting a 19-year-old from his hostel in the city and later demanding a ransom of Rs 50,000 for his release, police said on Monday.
The victim, a first-year BBM student, was abducted by the accused on April 11 at around 7.50 pm near his hostel in BTM Layout, they said.
However, the Madiwala police foiled the plan within four hours and rescued the kidnapped student, a native of Odisha, police said.
Of those arrested, two were former students of the same college, while the remaining two were current senior students there.
The matter came to light on the night of April 11 when information was received from a student stating that another student had been kidnapped near the college hostel in BTM Layout.
According to police, the victim was forcibly taken away in a car and held in an old house in Jayanagar on Saturday night. The accused allegedly threatened him with a knife and a fake pistol and demanded that he transfer Rs 50,000 via UPI, failing which he would be killed.
They also contacted his friends and family seeking money.
Acting swiftly, Namma 112 personnel immediately relayed the information to Madiwala police officials. Based on this information, a case was registered, and an investigation was initiated.
“Within five hours of the incident, the police, using technical surveillance, successfully rescued the kidnapped student and apprehended the accused. Further investigation is in progress,” a senior police officer said.
All the accused are aged between 19 and 23 years. One of them used his father’s car to carry out the abduction, while another former student, who had passed out from the same college, joined the group in taking the victim to the house in Jayanagar, which belonged to another accused.
Police said some money was transferred to the suspects to ensure they did not harm the victim.
Police suspect the accused are habitual offenders and are investigating their possible involvement in similar cases in the past. One of the accused was also previously involved in an extortion case, they added.
The accused were remanded to judicial custody, police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
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