Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee, who swept the Bengal election but lost her own contest to aide-turned BJP rival Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram, is set to contest her home turf seat of Bhowanipur in Kolkata.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA who won from Bhowanipur, Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay, resigned from the Bengal Assembly on Friday afternoon to enable his party boss to contest from the seat.
“Mamata Banerjee will fight from Bhowanipur in the coming six months,” Chattopadhyay told NDTV before handing in his resignation to Assembly Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay.
He will continue as state Agriculture Minister for six months, during which time he will contest from another seat to return to the Assembly.
To stay Chief Minister, Mamata has to contest by-polls within six months and become a member of the Assembly.
Article 164 of the Constitution says a minister who is not an MLA within six months has to resign.
