Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee must win the Bhabanipur bypoll here on Thursday to remain the chief minister of West Bengal.
Notably, Mamata had narrowly lost to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram in the March-April Assembly polls.
Notwithstanding her personal loss, Mamata took charge as the CM for the third time after the Trinamool Congress’ landslide victory in the state election.
However, the Constitution mandates that a person has to get elected to the legislature within six months of taking oath as a minister.
Therefore, Mamata must win the Bhabanipur bypoll as an MLA to retain the top post in Bengal.
The bypoll was necessitated after the resignation of Trinamool MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay to facilitate the party supremo’s election to the Assembly.
On Tuesday, the Calcutta High Court cleared another hurdle to Mamata’s path by ruling that the Bhabanipur by-election won’t be cancelled and held as per schedule on Thursday.
The court passed the order while hearing a PIL that questioned the Election Commission’s contention of a “constitutional exigency” for holding by-election in Kolkata.
In the do or die contest, Mamata will be up against BJP’s greenhorn Priyanka Tibrewal, a 41-year-old HC lawyer.
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