TMC faced BJP, as well as INDIA bloc, to win WB bypolls convincingly: Derek O'Brien

The Trinamool Congress overcame challenges from both the BJP and INDIA bloc allies Congress and the Left to win all the six assembly seats in West Bengal where bypolls were held, senior party leader Derek O'Brien said on Saturday.

The Trinamool Congress, which is a part of the INDIA bloc at the national level but is not in a seat-sharing agreement in the state, said his party won all the six seats "convincingly".

"The Trinamool convincingly won all the six assembly seats that went for bypolls. Other than the BJP, we were also facing two of the INDIA bloc parties, Congress and CPM who put up candidates in every seat," O'Brien said.

He, however, refused to comment on the performance the INDIA bloc. "We do not have an electoral alliance with any party in the bloc, so this is not a question we need to answer," the TMC's Parliamentary Party Leader in Rajya Sabha said. 

Reinforcing its hold over West Bengal which has been seeing prolonged protests over the RG Kar Medical College incident, the ruling TMC won all six seats that went to polls.

Five of the six constituencies are located in South Bengal, a TMC stronghold, while Madarihat is in the north, which the BJP had won in 2021.