New Delhi, Jun 29, 2022, IANS

Kolkata, June 29 (IANS) The Congress on Wednesday won the bypoll to the ward number 2 of Jhalda Municipality in West Bengal's Purulia district.

The poll was necessitated after Congress councillor Tapan Kandu was shot dead on March 13. His nephew Mithun Kandu fought the poll.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently probing the murder of Tapan Kandu.

Mithun Kandu defeated the Trinamool Congress candidate, Jagannath Rajak by a margin of 778 votes, which was much higher than the 124 votes that his Late uncle had secured. The bypoll was conducted on June 26.

While political observers cited sympathy wave as the reason behind the victory of the Congress candidate, defeated Trinamool Congress candidate, Jagannath Rajak has claimed that sabotage by the district leadership of his own party resulted in such a defeat.

Soon after the results were declared, Mithun Kandu told the mediapersons that the people of the ward number 2 of Jhalda municipality have given a fitting reply to Trinamool Congress, whose activists were responsible for the assassination of his uncle.

Describing the results as a poetic justice, Tapan Kandu's widow, Purnima Kandu said she is sure that Mithun Kandu will fulfill the dream of his late uncle and work for the people who have voted him to power.

Ruling Trinamool Congress received yet another jolt in the bypolls for the ward number of 17 of Chandernagore Municipality in Hooghly district, where the CPI-M candidate, Ashok Gangopadhyay defeated the Trinamool Congress candidate, Sudip Kumar Nath by a margin of 130 words. The CPI(M) bagged the victory from this ward after a gap of 32 years.

However, Trinamool Congress candidates won the bypolls to the remaining four wards in Panihati, Bhatpara, Dum Dum and South Dum Dum municipalities all in North 24 Parganas.

The counting for the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) polls, which was also conducted on June 26 is on and the final results are expected by early afternoon.