Kaliganj (West Bengal) [India], June 23 (ANI): As counting of votes polled in the recently held byelections in Kaliganj in West Bengal progressed on Monday afternoon, Trinamool Congress (TMC) party candidate Alifa Ahmed extended her lead by a margin of 33,255 votes according to Election Commission trends.

The by-poll in the constituency was necessitated after the death of TMC leader Nasiruddin Ahmed.

In a post on X, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her deep gratitude to the voters, thanking them for their overwhelming support.

'In the by-election of the Kaliganj Assembly constituency, people from all religions, castes, communities, and all walks of life have overwhelmingly blessed us by exercising their voting rights. I humbly express my gratitude to them,' Banerjee wrote.

She credited the victory to the guiding values of Maa-Mati-Manush (Mother, Soil, People), emphasizing, 'The main architect of this victory is Maa-Mati-Manush. My colleagues in Kaliganj have worked tirelessly for this, and I extend my sincere congratulations to them as well.'

Banerjee also dedicated the win to the late legislator Nasiruddin Ahmed, stating, 'In memory of the late legislator Nasiruddin Ahmed, I dedicate this victory to the people of Bengal- Maa-Mati-Manush.'

The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) fielded Alifa Ahmed while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded Ashish Ghosh and the Congress fielded Kabil Uddin Shaikh in the Kaliganj bypolls.

Meanwhile, In a significant blow to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government in Kerala, UDF candidate Aryadan Shoukath of Congress defeated LDF's M Swaraj of CPI(M) by a large margin of 11,077 votes in the Nilambur assembly by-election.

As per the Election Commission website, Shoukath had secured 77737 votes, a lead of 11077 votes from M Swaraj of the CPM after 19 rounds of counting.

Also in the by-election for Gujarat's Visavadar, Aam Aadmi Party candidate (AAP) Italia Gopal, defeated Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Kirit Patel by a margin of 17554 votes. The bypoll was necessitated after AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi died of a self-inflicted bullet injury in January this year.

Counting of votes for bypolls -- that were held on June 19 for two seats in Gujarat's Visavadar and Kadi, and one each in Nilambur, Punjab's Ludhiana West, and West Bengal's Kaliganj -- began this morning. (ANI)