Kaliganj bypoll: TMC names late MLA’s daughter as candidate
The Statesman | 28 May 2025
Trinamool Congress has nominated Alifa Ahmed (38) for the by-election in Kaliganj in Nadia.
Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress chairperson cleared her name. Alifa is a member of the zilla parishad in Nadia. Miss Banerjee urged her party leaders not to take the by-election lightly and ensured her smooth victory with a comfortable margin. Nasiruddin Ahmed had defeated the BJP candidate by over 46,000 votes.
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The by-election is scheduled to be held on 19 June. It became necessary after Nasirudsdin Ahmed, Alifa’s father, who was party’s MLA, died prematurely.
A statement from Trinamool Congress was issued in the morning confirming her nomination for the bypolls.
Political observers feel that the nomination was aimed at attracting the sympathy of the local voters in Kaliganj considering that the bypoll is perceived to be an acid test for the ruling Trinamool Congress and chief minister Mamata Banerjee amid multiple controversies, including the loss of jobs of 25,753 teaching and non-teaching jobs in state-run schools and pending payment of dearness allowance dues to the government employees and others.
At the same time, the bypoll is also a challenge for the opposition BJP, and it is to be seen whether they can transfer the growing grievances of people on these issues in their favour.
On Monday, information surfaced from the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO), West Bengal, that 20 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will be deployed for the Kaliganj bypoll, and the deployment will be completed by next week.
Earlier this month, on 9 May, the final electoral list for Kaliganj was published. The final list featured a decrease of over 2,000 voters from the number in the 2021 Assembly polls. The final list was announced following a special summary revision by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).
As per the final electoral list, the total number of voters in Kaliganj is 2,52,670.
Kaliganj is among the five Assembly constituencies in four states that will be going for bypolls on 19 June. The other four being Kadi and Visavdar in Gujarat, Ludhiana-West in Punjab and Nilambur in Kerala.
The counting will be held on 23 June. The last date for making nominations is 2 June, and the date for the scrutiny of nominations is 3 June. The last date for the withdrawal of candidatures is 5 June.