Kolkata: Repeatedly shunned by the voters in the metropolis in the past few Lok Sabha elections, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) today (May 13, 2004) caused a major upset by wresting the prestigious Calcutta Northwest seat, thanks to the presence of the rebel Nationalist Trinamool Congress (NTC) leader Sudip Bandyopadhyya.

Deeply entrenched in rural Bengal, CPM had won in a Kolkata constituency last time in 1989 when Biplab Dasgupta defeated sitting Congress MP Bholanath Sen in Calcutta South.

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The CPM candidate Sudhanghu Sil's victory this time around in the traditionally anti-Left Calcutta Northwest was all the more significant as the previous instance of the left tasting success from the constituency was way back in 1956. Then, Left-supported independent Mohit Moitra had emerged victorious in a by-poll.

Sil defeated his nearest Nationalist Trinamool Congress rival and Kolkata Mayor Subrata Mukherjee by a margin of 42,823 votes.

Sil polled 15,1481 votes against 1,08,658 by Mukherjee.

Bandyopadhyya polled 81,906.

Bandyopadhyya had won the seat twice on a Trinamool ticket in 1998 and 1999, but fell apart with NTC supremo Mamata Banerjee last year and was denied ticket by the party this time.