Jalpaiguri: The ruling TMC was leading in the by-election to the Dhupguri assembly seat in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district on Friday in a close contest with the BJP, officials said.

After seven rounds of counting, TMC candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy was leading by 2,931 votes. BJP candidate Tapasi Roy was at the second spot, while CPI(M) candidate Ishwar Chandra Roy, backed by the Congress, was at a distant third spot, they said.

The counting, which began at 8 am, was being held amid tight security at the Jalpaiguri II campus of North Bengal University.

The polling for the by-election was held on September 5. A voter turnout of 78 per cent was recorded.

The bypoll was necessitated by the death of BJP MLA Bishnu Pada Ray on July 25.

PTI