KOLKATA — The invincibility of Trinamool Congress was again proved when the ruling party not only won 102 of the 108 municipalities but managed to take control of more than 86 per cent of the total 2,165 wards across the state.
While the Trinamool won 1,862 of the total 2,165 wards, the BJP managed to win only 63 wards followed by the Congress and Left that got victory in 59 and 52 wards respectively.
When the Trinamool secured 63.5 per cent of the total votes, the BJP and CPI-M managed to get only 12.6 and 12.4 per cent of the total polled votes, respectively. Interestingly enough, the Congress that had won more wards than the Left Front, managed to get only 4.8 per cent of the total votes.
Figuratively, the Trinamool got 45,55,264 votes out of the total 71,79,713 votes polled in the civic polls while the BJP managed to get 9,02,618 votes and CPI-M got 8,89,591 votes. The Congress got only 3,44,381 votes.
The ruling party thus bulldozed the Opposition and won 102 of the 108 municipalities in West Bengal on Wednesday. The CPI-M got one municipality and the newly formed ‘Humro Party’ won the Darjeeling municipality, but the BJP failed to open its account.
The CPI-M secured its victory in Taherpur municipality in the Nadia district. The BJP, which had emerged as the main opposition party in West Bengal, after winning 77 seats in the 2021 Assembly polls, failed to open its account. The Congress, too, failed to win a single seat. Surprisingly, the newly-formed Humro Party won the Darjeeling municipality while four municipalities had a hung result.
The civic body polls recorded a 77 per cent turnout, marred with violence. Reports of intimidation allegedly by the Trinamool workers, electoral malpractices and attacks on journalists emerged from various parts of the state during the polling day.
The BJP, meanwhile, demanded a repoll. On Monday, the party had called for a 12-hour strike in the state against the “civic poll violence and alleged electoral malpractices,” a charge denied by the ruling Trinamool Congress.
The Trinamool has won in municipalities like Contai — home of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari and Khidderpore from where former state BJP President Dilip Ghosh had won the Assembly election and now Hiran from BJP is the existing MLA. Trinamool has also made strong inroads in BJP strongman Arjun Singh’s backyard by winning the Bhatpara municipality in North 24 Parganas.
The civic body polls were held in 108 municipalities across 21 districts on Sunday. The voting was held for 2,171 wards of the 108 municipalities where more than 95.6 lakh voters decided the fate of 8,160 candidates. The ruling Trinamool had won five municipalities, including Budge Budge, Seuri, Ghatal, Doihata and Ghursuri uncontested. -IANS
