Kolkata: Former Calcutta high court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, whom the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded from Tamluk Lok Sabha seat in East Midnapore, was leading with a margin of over 10,000 votes against Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) Debangshu Bhattacharya.
At around 2:30pm, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI) data, he was leading with a margin of 10,345 votes. While Gangopadhyay got 213,169 votes, Bhattacharya got 202,824 votes.
61-year-old Gangopadhyay resigned from service in March, five months before retirement, and joined the BJP. It was Gangopadhyay who ordered a series of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probes into the multi-crore recruitment scam, which led to the arrest of many TMC leaders.
The contest in Tamluk was being widely seen as an acid test for both. The region is still a ruling party bastion but is controlled by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari and his family members, who have moved to the saffron camp since 2020.
Like Gangopadhyay, the TMC candidate too is a debutant in Parliament polls. He is known more for his catchy rhymes and slogans, who penned the popular TMC election song ‘Khela Hobe’ for the 2021 assembly election.
Suvendu Adhikari, who was earlier with the TMC had wrested the seat first in 2009 even before the TMC had come to power. He won it again in 2014. He, however, resigned in 2016 to contest the assembly elections. His brother Dibyendu won from Tamluk in 2019.
{{/usCountry}}Suvendu Adhikari, who was earlier with the TMC had wrested the seat first in 2009 even before the TMC had come to power. He won it again in 2014. He, however, resigned in 2016 to contest the assembly elections. His brother Dibyendu won from Tamluk in 2019.
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