Trinamool triumph in Kaliganj: Landslide victory sparks a nationwide political wave

Trinamool Congress candidate Alifa Ahmed’s overwhelming win in West Bengal signals evolving electoral dynamics

Kolkata: Alifa Ahmed, the Trinamool Congress candidate for the Kaliganj Assembly constituency in Nadia district, appears set to secure a landslide victory in the bypoll after the 18th round of counting on Monday. Ahmed has secured 85,043 votes, building a lead margin of 47,866 exceeding her party’s winning margin from the 2021 Assembly polls when her late father, Nasiruddin Ahmed, won by 45,987 votes against BJP’s Abhijit Ghosh.

After the 18th round, the votes for the Trinamool Congress candidate outnumber the combined total of the BJP’s Ashish Ghosh, who has 37,177 votes, and the Left Front-supported Congress candidate, Kabil Uddin Shaikh, who has 25,313 votes. There will be a total of 23 rounds of counting.

---

Commenting on the impressive lead, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “People of all religions, castes, races, and walks of life in Kaliganj have blessed my party immensely by exercising their right to vote in the by-elections. I humbly express my gratitude to them. The main architects of this victory are the mother, soil, and people. My colleagues from Kaliganj have worked tirelessly on this. I also extend my heartfelt congratulations to them. My greetings and salutations to everyone.”

Kaliganj is a minority-dominated constituency with Muslim voters constituting almost 60 percent of the total electorate. The counting is being conducted under a blanket three-tier security cover, with only Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel in the innermost security circle of the two counting halls.