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Mamata Banerjee may fight by-election from Bhawanipore as MLA vacates seat
“My party did not ask me to resign. I was under no pressure. I took the decision as a sincere worker of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) so that Mamata can contest from Bhawanipore again,” Bhawanipore legislator Sobhandeb Chattopaddhyay said after putting in his papers.
West Bengal agriculture minister and Bhawanipore legislator Sobhandeb Chattopaddhyay resigned from the assembly on Friday, clearing the way for chief minister Mamata Banerjee to contest a by-election from the constituency she represented twice since coming to power a decade ago.
Banerjee took oath as chief minister on May 5 for the third time despite losing her election from the high-profile Nandigram seat to her protégé-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari. Under the rules, she has to get elected to the House in six months.
“My party did not ask me to resign. I was under no pressure. I took the decision as a sincere worker of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) so that Mamata can contest from Bhawanipore again,” Chattopadhyay said after putting in his papers.
“Her role in state and national politics is more important right now,” he added.
Assembly speaker Biman Banerjee confirmed the resignation.
“Chattopadhyay came to my officer a little after 2.30 pm and submitted his resignation. He said it is his voluntary decision. I have accepted it,” he said.
A veteran TMC leader, Chattopadhyay was shifted from his traditional seat of Rashbehari in Kolkata to Bhawanipore after Banerjee decided to move to the rural Nandigram seat to take on Adhikari.
She lost the election by 1,956 votes but led TMC to a thumping victory in the assembly polls by winning 213 of the 292 seats contested. BJP won 77 and Adhikari is now the leader of opposition.
With Chattopadhyay’s resignation, Bhawanipore becomes the sixth assembly seat to fall vacant. The state assembly has 294 seats but polls were held in 292 as two as two candidates at two seats in Murshidabad district died of Covid-19 before elections were held.
The Election Commission (EC) has not declared the poll schedule for any of these seats.
TMC leaders said Banerjee will decide what role Chattopadhyay will play. He may contest any of the vacant seats.
The party may also send him to the Rajya Sabha, replacing Dinesh Trivedi who joined the BJP on May 6. Chattopadhyay, 77, said he is too old to go to Parliament.
Like Banerjee, finance minister Amit Mitra also needs to get elected within six months. He did not contest the polls. Mitra earlier represented the Khardah seat, which fell vacant after the TMC’s winning candidate died of Covid-19.
On May 17, Banerjee cleared a cabinet decision to form Vidhan Parishad, or legislative council, which she promised before the polls. Banerjee said eminent people as well as veteran leaders who were not nominated for the assembly elections would be made members of the Vidhan Parishad.
Vidhan Parishad members can become ministers and civic body members and legislators elect its members.
However, according to Article 169 of the Constitution, Parliament has to pass a bill for creation of Vidhan Parishad and the President’s assent is also mandatory. The process may take more than six months.
In such a scenario, Mitra could contest any of the vacant assembly seats, TMC leaders said on condition of anonymity.
