Kolkata, Sep 4 (TIWN) After much speculation, the Election Commission of India announced the date for the bye-elections in Bhabanipur and elections in two other assembly constituencies - Samsergunj and Jangipur in Murshidabad district on Saturday. The elections in these three constituencies will be held on September 30 and counting will be held on October 3.

The elections in Samsergunj and Jangipur were withheld because of the death of the candidates before polls during the recently concluded assembly election in West Bengal. On the other hand, a bye-election in Bhabanipur assembly constituency is scheduled because the existing MLA Sovondeb Chattopadhyay resigned to make room for chief minister Mamata Banerjee. 

Banerjee lost to the Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhiakri in Nandigram in the recently concluded polls and is still not an elected member of the legislative body. 

The commission in its notification quoting chief secretary H.K. Dwivedi said, "under Article 164(4) of the Constitution of India, a Minister who is not a member of the Legislature of the State for a period of six consecutive months shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a Minister and there will be a constitutional crisis and vacuum in the top executive posts in the Government unless elections are held immediately".