The Kharagpur sadar Assembly segment — a cosmopolitan township home to over 90,000 voters associated with the railways — has elected a Trinamul MLA for the first time.

The outcome was seen as a sign that the ruling party in Bengal had managed to convince the electorate about the “ill-effects” of the economic policies of the Narendra Modi-led central government.

Trinamul candidate Pradip Sarkar defeated the BJP’s Prem Chand Jha by over 20,800 votes. The assembly segment fell vacant after Dilip Ghosh, elected as the MLA in 2016, resigned after becoming the MP from the Midnapore seat this year.

In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP secured a lead of over 42,000 votes from Kharagpur Sadar, which helped Ghosh — also the state BJP president — defeat Trinamul’s Manas Bhunia by over 88,000 votes.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee underscored the importance of the Kharagpur triumph. “We never won the seat since the party was set up in January 1, 1998. Twenty years down the line, we won it along with Kaliaganj. This is important,” she said.

The Congress’s Gyan Singh Sohanpal, known as Chachaji in this railway town, had won the Kharagpur seat for 10 successive terms as the MLA. In 2014, Ghosh had defeated him.

Trinamul insiders said they had highlighted the “failures” of the Modi government, particularly on the economic issues, including plans for privatisation in the railways. “As there are a significant number of railway workers in the town, we decided to focus on the issue. It is evident that it has worked in our favour,” said a Trinamul leader.

According to another Trinamul leader, he had seen the fear of losing jobs in rail colonies. “Their future was at stake due to the faulty economic policies of the Centre. They trusted the chief minister’s fight against these policies of the BJP,” said the leader.

Kharagpur, a railway township, has a workshop and is a South Eastern Railway hub with around 90,000 voters linked to the railways directly and indirectly. The railway employees feared loss of jobs and pension after the Centre unveiled plans to privatise around 150 passenger trains and a few stations last month.

A railway employee said Trinamul leaders had carried out a door-to-door campaign ahead of the bypoll with a focus on the economic policies of the Centre. “We were afraid of the decision on privatisation in the railways… We decided to vote against the BJP and Trinamul was the only alternative here,” said the employee.

BJP leaders admitted Trinamul’s campaign in the railway colonies went against them. Samit Kumar Das, BJP’s West Midnapore president, suggested the Trinamul’s “false” campaigns in the railway colonies” had gone against his party.

Trinamul sources said they had also highlighted the “failure” of Ghosh as the MLA in the past three years.

“As Dilip Ghosh failed to fulfil the demands of the residents, including the railway employees, people the rejected him and his party,” Trinamul leader and state minister Suvendu Adhikari, who held many rallies in Kharagpur, said on Thursday.