Mamata's Trinamool retains Howrah Lok Sabha seat

Kolkata, June 5: West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress Wednesday retained the Howrah Lok Sabha seat, with former international footballer Prasun Banerjee defeating the CPI-M's Sridip Bhattacharya by over 27,000 votes.

Congress candidate Sanatan Mukherjee finished a distant third in the June 2 by-election.

Of the seven assembly segments, Banerjee maintained leads in five: Shibpur, Bally, Panchla, Howrah Central and Howrah North. Bhattacharya was ahead in Howrah South and Sankrail.

The by-poll was necessitated by the death of Trinamool MP Ambica Banerjee April 25. He had polled 37,392 votes over the CPI-M in 2009.

IANS