Editor's Pick: Bengal by-polls favour TMC

Trinamool Congress (TMC) accomplished a clean sweep in the recently-held by-polls for the Lok Sabha seat in Asansol and the Assembly seat in Ballygunge. Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who joined the Mamata Banerjee-spearheaded outfit in March, defeated Bhartiya Janata Party’s Agnimitra Paul by more than 3 lakh votes to mark his debut in Bengal politics. Babul Supriyo, another recent recruit to the TMC, defeated CPI-M's Saira Shah Halim to secure the Assembly seat for his party. The by-polls in Asansol were mandated after Babul Supriyo switched from the BJP to TMC in September last year. He was representing the parliamentary constituency since 2014 until surrendering his membership with the BJP. The Hindi film actor’s stellar debut helped the ruling TMC secure its first ever victory in Asansol – a long drawn jinx in its electoral history. Mr. Supriyo had defeated TMC candidates Moon Moon Sen in 2019 and Dola Sen in 2014. Mr. Sinha, who has served as a Union Cabinet Minister on two occasions and a member of the Rajya Sabha would now represent Asansol in the Lower House. The actor-turned-politician had joined the Congress from the BJP in the run-up to the 2019 parliamentary elections. Fielded from Patna Sahib in Bihar, he lost to former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The Ballygunge Assembly seat felt vacant following the death of Bengal Cabinet Minister Subrata Mukherjee. Mr Supriyo defeated CPI-M's Ms. Halim by a margin of 20,228 votes. BJP’s Keya Ghosh stood third having bagged 13,220 votes. The silver lining here, incidentally, is for the CPI-M, having managed to secure a 30.1% vote share compared to the BJP's 12.8%. In 2021, BJP stood second in the race. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. Click here The Hindu Explains Explained | What’s fuelling inflation in rural India? Explained | How will Sri Lanka overcome its debt crisis? The Hindu’s Daily Quiz What is Nepal’s apex central bank called? Reserve Bank of Nepal Central Bank of Nepal Nepal Rashtriya Bank Associated Bank of Nepal To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here [logo] Editor's Pick 17 APRIL 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Bengal by-polls favour TMC Trinamool Congress (TMC) accomplished a [clean sweep in the recently-held by-polls]( for the Lok Sabha seat in Asansol and the Assembly seat in Ballygunge. Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who joined the Mamata Banerjee-spearheaded outfit in March, defeated Bhartiya Janata Party’s Agnimitra Paul by more than 3 lakh votes to mark his debut in Bengal politics. Babul Supriyo, another recent recruit to the TMC, defeated CPI-M's Saira Shah Halim to secure the Assembly seat for his party. The by-polls in Asansol were mandated after Babul Supriyo switched from the BJP to TMC in September last year. He was representing the parliamentary constituency since 2014 until surrendering his membership with the BJP. The Hindi film actor’s [stellar debut]( helped the ruling TMC secure its first ever victory in Asansol – a long drawn jinx in its electoral history. Mr. Supriyo had defeated TMC candidates Moon Moon Sen in 2019 and Dola Sen in 2014. Mr. Sinha, who has served as a Union Cabinet Minister on two occasions and a member of the Rajya Sabha would now represent Asansol in the Lower House. The actor-turned-politician had joined the Congress from the BJP in the run-up to the 2019 parliamentary elections. Fielded from Patna Sahib in Bihar, he lost to former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The Ballygunge Assembly seat felt vacant following the death of Bengal Cabinet Minister Subrata Mukherjee. Mr Supriyo defeated CPI-M's Ms. Halim by a margin of 20,228 votes. BJP’s Keya Ghosh stood third having bagged 13,220 votes. The silver lining here, incidentally, is for the CPI-M, having managed to secure a 30.1% vote share compared to the BJP's 12.8%. In 2021, BJP stood second in the race. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more.  [Click here]( The Hindu Explains [Arrow][Explained | What’s fuelling inflation in rural India?]( [Arrow][Explained | How will Sri Lanka overcome its debt crisis?]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz What is Nepal’s apex central bank called? - Reserve Bank of Nepal - Central Bank of Nepal - Nepal Rashtriya Bank - Associated Bank of Nepal To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here]( Today’s Best Reads [[New EU sanctions on Russia to target Sberbank, Commission head tells paper] New EU sanctions on Russia to target Sberbank, Commission head tells paper]( [[North Korea tests new weapons system aimed at enhancing 'tactical nukes' efficiency: KCNA] North Korea tests new weapons system aimed at enhancing 'tactical nukes' efficiency: KCNA]( [[EU anti-fraud body accuses Marine Le Pen of embezzlement] EU anti-fraud body accuses Marine Le Pen of embezzlement]( [[Delhi, U.P. on high alert after violence during Hanuman Jayanthi procession] Delhi, U.P. on high alert after violence during Hanuman Jayanthi procession]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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