Ahead of chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s visit to Darjeeling, Union minister of state for education and state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, today expressed concern that the state machinery, controlled by the Trinamul Congress (TMC), would not conduct a free and fair by-poll scheduled in North Bengal for 13 November.
Arriving at Bagdogra Airport today, the BJP state president significantly said: “Our BJP candidate in Madarihat will win by a significant margin in the Assembly election in 2026. If the TMC-led state machinery conducts free and fair polls, the BJP will win at least three Assembly segments in bypoll in West Bengal. However, we have concerns about the role of the TMC-led state machinery.”
Mr Majumdar further added that the BJP is confident of winning the Madarihat seat.
Mr Majumdar arrived today to campaign for the Madarihat bypoll to retain the BJP’s hold on the Assembly seat. The BJP leadership is making a concerted effort to maintain party prestige, especially as political observers predict challenges for BJP candidate Rahul Lohar due to internal conflicts and alleged disunity among the Adivasi and Gorkha communities in the area.
This is the second visit by the state party president to the Madarihat Assembly segment in recent days. Mr Majumdar had previously campaigned for party candidate Rahul Lohar.