Mamata Banerjee lost from Nandigram constituency following high drama amidst her party's spectacular return to power.
Suvendu Adhikary claimed victory in Nandigram by 1,736 votes. In a tweet, he wrote, "My sincere thanks to the great People of Nandigram for their love, trust, blessings, and support, and for choosing me as their representative and the MLA from #Nandigram. It is my never-ending commitment to be of service to them and working for their welfare. I am truly grateful!"
Mamata first emerged victorious by about 1,200 votes, following which her rival and BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikary sought to recount and emerged victorious by about 1,900 votes. Then the TMC sought a recounting following which he emerged winner by 1,736 votes.
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Mamata and her party have said they were likely to move court regarding the counting. Nevertheless, Mamata said that the defeat in Nandigram was a "small sacrifice" towards achieving a greater goal.
TMC national spokesperson Derek O'Brien too highlighted Mamata Banerjee's remark on Nandigram defeat. In a tweet, he wrote, "For winning a greater battle, you must sacrifice something.” @MamataOfficial."
Earlier at a news conference, Mamata said, “I accept the verdict in Nandigram. I offer my salaam to the people of Nandigram. I will move to court if necessary to review the result. Nevertheless, it's a minor issue for a party that is winning in 221 seats," she had said.
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As of 9pm, the TMC was leading win 219 seats in the 294-seat Assembly.
Mamata changed her constituency this time to take rebel TMC leader Suvendu Adhikary head-on on his home turf, a decision that had bolstered the morale of her party's supporters across the state.
She said on Sunday that some "small sacrifices" are sometimes required to be made for larger gains.
"Whatever has happened has happened for the good. I won't have to visit such a long distance to look after the constituency," she said, while referring to Nandigram, which is about 130 km away from her residence in south Kolkata.
