'People's Shubho Nababarsho gift': Mamata Banerjee claims TMC victory in bypolls

"I sincerely appreciate the voters of the Asansol Parliamentary Constituency and the Ballygunge Assembly Constituency for providing a decisive mandate to AITC party candidates," the CM stated on Twitter.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee hailed voters as the TMC edged closer to victory in the Asansol bypolls. On Saturday, the results of one Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal's Asansol and one Assembly seat in Ballygunge will be announced. The counting is now ongoing.

Meanwhile, TMC's Shatrughan Sinha was leading the Asansol seat. 

"I sincerely appreciate the voters of the Asansol Parliamentary Constituency and the Ballygunge Assembly Constituency for providing a decisive mandate to AITC party candidates," the CM stated on Twitter.

In another tweet, she said the win was the TMC's Shubho Nababarsho gift. "This is our people's warm Shubho Nababarsho present to our Ma- Mati- Manush organisation. Thank you to the voters for reaffirming their trust in us," she stated.

In Asansol, the TMC has placed Shatrughan Sinha, a former BJP candidate, against the BJP's Agnimitra Paul. The by-election was called after Asansol MP Babul Supriyo resigned after quitting the BJP and joined the TMC.

Meanwhile, Babul Supriyo is running against CPM candidate Saira Halim Shah in the Ballygunge Assembly byelection.

Sinha is a two-term Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Bihar's Patna Sahib constituency, which he won on a BJP ticket. This will be his first electoral success after leaving the BJP to join the Congress just before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

He ran from Patna Sahib but was defeated by old colleague Ravi Shankar Prasad, who received over six lakh votes. Sinha joined the Trinamool in March, hailing Mamata Banerjee as the "Bengal tigress."