Mamata heads for victory with record margin in Bhabanipur, TMC ahead in two Murshidabad seats
Kolkata/ Berhampore(PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is heading for a record victory as she is leading by 45,738 votes in the Bhabanipur bypoll after the 17th round of counting on Sunday afternoon, as per the Election Commission.
The TMC is also ahead in Murshidabad's Samserganj and Jangipur constituencies, where votes are being counted for the assembly elections.
Banerjee, the TMC candidate in the Bhabanipur assembly seat in south Kolkata, secured 67,620 votes after the 17th round of counting, as per the official data.
Her nearest rival, BJP's Priyanka Tibrewal, got 21,882 votes, while Srijib Biswas of the CPI(M) secured 2,896. Altogether, 21 rounds of counting will be held in Bhabanipur.
In Samserganj, TMC candidate Amirul Islam is leading by 3,768 votes after the fifth round of counting. He secured 19,751 votes, while his nearest rival, Zaidur Rahaman of the Congress, got 15,983.
Jangipur's TMC nominee Jakir Hossain is leading by 15,643 votes after the second round of counting. Hossain secured 25,572 votes, and his nearest rival, BJP's Sujit Das, got 9,929.
Voting in these seats was held on September 30. As the reports of Banerjee's massive lead came in, TMC supporters hit streets across the state to celebrate.
On the other side, state offices of the BJP and the CPI (M) wore a deserted look.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission wrote to the chief secretary directing him to prohibit victory celebrations and processions to prevent any incident of post-poll violence.
Tibrewal, on Saturday night, wrote to the Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Rajesh Bindal, urging him to give orders to the police to take preventive steps to avoid incidents of violence after the declaration of the results.
After Banerjee's defeat in Nandigram, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, a state minister, vacated the Bhabanipur seat to facilitate her return to the assembly from there.
The TMC had won the seat in the April-May assembly polls by a margin of around 28,000 votes.
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Vijay unable to prove majority, not invited for CM oath ceremony: Sources
Chennai: Actor-politician Vijay has reportedly not been invited to take oath as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after failing to demonstrate support from the required number of MLAs, sources in Raj Bhavan said.
According to media reports that quoted sources in the office of R.N. Ravi Arlekar, Vijay could not prove the backing of 118 legislators, the majority mark in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Despite last-minute efforts to secure support from the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazagam (AMMK), and an IUML legislator, Vijay reportedly managed support from only 116 MLAs, falling short by two members.
Sources said Vijay failed to submit letters of support from the VCK and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Later, the IUML issued a statement clarifying that it was not part of the TVK-led alliance.
Meanwhile, AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran is also said to have informed the Governor that his party would support the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) instead.
Earlier in the evening, Vijay had met Governor Arlekar and staked claim to form the government, stating that he enjoyed the support of 118 MLAs.
