Police in West Bengal seized a large cache of arms and ammunition from a flat in North 24 Parganas district, arresting one person in connection with the seizure. The recovered items include firearms, ammunition, cash, gold, and antique coins.
A high voter turnout of nearly 71 per cent was recorded till 5 pm on Saturday in West Bengal's four assembly constituencies where bypolls were held, an official said.
The TMC, in total, bagged 75.02 per cent of the votes cast, whereas the BJP got some 14.48 per cent votes, in the four assembly segments.
Khardah is no ordinary constituency. It is the electoral battleground of two economists-turned-finance ministers.
Noted economist and senior Trinamool Congress leader Amit Mitra is likely to step down as the West Bengal finance minister and even retire from active politics due to ill health, party sources said on Sunday.
The byelections are of critical importance to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who lost the assembly poll to Bharatiya Janata Party's Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram.
West Bengal minister and veteran Trinamool Congress leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay is all set to vacate the Bhabanipur assembly seat on Friday as party supremo Mamata Banerjee is likely to contest bypoll from the constituency, party sources said.
Among other measures, TMC announced Monday that it had formed coordination committees in all districts comprising senior leaders to look into party members' grievances.
No longer Bengal's finance minister, Amit Mitra, Mamata's principal chief advisor, will still advise and aid the 'chief minister and finance department on all matters relating to management of state finance', represent the 'state government in national and international events/meetings/committees' and examine 'important proposals/files and policy issues relating to financial matters referred to him for advice/views'.
However, a few defectors, who joined the BJP, got the better of their TMC rivals, including Suvendu Adhikari who emerged as a proverbial giant slayer, by defeating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee albeit by a narrow margin.
Trinamool Congress candidate Amit Mitra, who is an economist by training and is pitted against West Bengal Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta in the Assembly polls, has said the state's financial condition can be improved with a flow of investments and expansion of existing industrial units.
Adequate security and Covid safety measures have been put in place for the electoral exercise.
His resignation has been accepted by the Ficci leadership, which said that it "wishes him all the very best for another historical role in the impending and hugely awaited economic transformation of West Bengal".
Banerjee scored a personal point with a massive victory in the bypoll with a record margin of 58,835 votes.
Delhi registered their second consecutive win with a 2-0 victory of Uttar Pradesh to inch closer to pre-quarterfinals of the 64th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy at Khardah Stadium in Kolkata.
Candidates appearing for the exam in Kolkata were seen standing in queues while abiding by the social distancing norms.
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