Express News Service
KOLKATA: The trend in the counting of votes in the three-tier panchayat election hints at a massive victory for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the rural landscape of Bengal. Though the Left Front-Congress alliance has made an impressive performance in minority-dominated Murshidabad district, the ruling TMCis cruising on to register a stupendous victory in all three tiers— gram panchayat, panchayat samiti and zilla parishad—as of Tuesday night.
A MOMENTOUS DAY!With people’s love, trust, and support, we shall emerge VICTORIOUS.People of Bengal, this victory belongs to YOU!#GramBanglayTMC pic.twitter.com/6AxEOPq8Zh
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) July 11, 2023
The counting of votes was marred by reports of violence at several places and the opposition parties accused the TMC of not allowing their agents in the counting centres. Fearing an attack by the ruling TMC, a group of activists and supporters of the BJP fled to neighbouring Assam from the saffron camp’s stronghold of Cooch Behar.
The counting trend showed that the TMC has secured victory in 75 per cent of gram panchayats seats announced till Tuesday evening. The ruling party had won 78 per cent of gram panchayat seats in the 2018 rural polls when 34 per cent of the total seats were bagged by the TMC uncontested.
In Panchayat Samiti, the TMC bagged 98 per cent of the total announced seats and the party is leading in almost all 928 zilla parishad seats. In many pockets of Murshidabad districts, where 66 per cent of the population belongs to minority communities, the TMC failed to retain many gram panchayat seats as the candidates of the Left Front-Congress alliance put up an impressive performance. The ruling party got a smell of erosion in the minority vote bank in the recent by-election in the Sagardighi Assembly constituency as it lost the seat to the CPI(M)-Congress alliance’s candidate.
Opposition parties accused the TMC of flexing muscles on the counting day like they allegedly did on the day of the election. Crude bombs were allegedly hurled indiscriminately targeting the agents of Opposition parties who were heading towards the counting venue in Diamond Harbour, South 24 Parganas, a constituency of the second-in-command in the TMC and nephew of chief minister Abhishek Banerjee’s Lok Sabha constituency.
ALSO READ | Toll in Bengal violence hits 17, guv in Delhi
ALSO READ | Vicious cycle of violence in West Bengal
KOLKATA: The trend in the counting of votes in the three-tier panchayat election hints at a massive victory for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the rural landscape of Bengal. Though the Left Front-Congress alliance has made an impressive performance in minority-dominated Murshidabad district, the ruling TMCis cruising on to register a stupendous victory in all three tiers— gram panchayat, panchayat samiti and zilla parishad—as of Tuesday night.
A MOMENTOUS DAY!
With people’s love, trust, and support, we shall emerge VICTORIOUS.
People of Bengal, this victory belongs to YOU!#GramBanglayTMC pic.twitter.com/6AxEOPq8Zh
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) July 11, 2023
The counting of votes was marred by reports of violence at several places and the opposition parties accused the TMC of not allowing their agents in the counting centres. Fearing an attack by the ruling TMC, a group of activists and supporters of the BJP fled to neighbouring Assam from the saffron camp’s stronghold of Cooch Behar.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
The counting trend showed that the TMC has secured victory in 75 per cent of gram panchayats seats announced till Tuesday evening. The ruling party had won 78 per cent of gram panchayat seats in the 2018 rural polls when 34 per cent of the total seats were bagged by the TMC uncontested.
In Panchayat Samiti, the TMC bagged 98 per cent of the total announced seats and the party is leading in almost all 928 zilla parishad seats. In many pockets of Murshidabad districts, where 66 per cent of the population belongs to minority communities, the TMC failed to retain many gram panchayat seats as the candidates of the Left Front-Congress alliance put up an impressive performance. The ruling party got a smell of erosion in the minority vote bank in the recent by-election in the Sagardighi Assembly constituency as it lost the seat to the CPI(M)-Congress alliance’s candidate.
Opposition parties accused the TMC of flexing muscles on the counting day like they allegedly did on the day of the election. Crude bombs were allegedly hurled indiscriminately targeting the agents of Opposition parties who were heading towards the counting venue in Diamond Harbour, South 24 Parganas, a constituency of the second-in-command in the TMC and nephew of chief minister Abhishek Banerjee’s Lok Sabha constituency.
ALSO READ | Toll in Bengal violence hits 17, guv in Delhi
ALSO READ | Vicious cycle of violence in West Bengal
