By PTI
KOLKATA: Riding on the momentum of its landslide victory in the assembly polls last year, West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress on Wednesday stormed to power in 102 of the 108 municipalities of the state as the opposition BJP suffered a complete rout in the elections that were marred by allegations of widespread rigging.
Reaffirming its dominance among the urban voters, the TMC bagged 1870 of the 2170 wards and 63.45 per cent of the total votes polled in a ringing endorsement for the party 10 months after its emphatic win in the state assembly polls, an official of the State Election Commission (SEC) said.
However, the biggest surprise of the polls was the Hamro party – a four-month-old political outfit – which bagged the Darjeeling civic body, worsting heavyweight hill parties like the GJM and the GNLF.
The BJP, which lost much of its steam after the assembly poll defeat, managed to win just 63 wards across the state by bagging 12.57 per cent of votes but failed to win a single civic body.
The CPI(M)-led Left Front, which had failed to open its account in the last assembly polls, won 55 wards securing 14.13 per cent votes and a civic body Taherpur Municipality in Nadia district.
The Left Front, despite the mauling, finished second to the TMC in terms of vote share and first runner up in most of the wards.
The Congress, too, was unable to win a single civic body, although it managed to get 59 wards and a vote share of 4.8 per cent.
Elections were scheduled in 108 municipalities but took place in 107 civic bodies on February 27 as the TMC won Dinhata Municipality in Coochbehar district uncontested.
“The TMC has won 102 municipalities. The Left Front has won one civic body, and Hamro Party has won one. Four municipalities have hung board,” the State Election Commission (SEC) official said.
The TMC has reduced the opposition’s tally to zero in 31 municipalities, securing all the wards.
Four municipalities, Beldanga in Murshidabad, Jhalda in Purulia, Champdani in Hooghly and Egra in Purba Medinipur district, are hung, with no party securing a clear majority.
Independents hold the key to board formation in these civic bodies.
Ironically, the independents expelled TMC workers who had contested polls after being denied party tickets, had won nearly 119 wards and had bagged 4.8 per cent of the total votes polled.
The TMC leadership said they are yet to take a call on whether to take back the independents into the party fold or not.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday thanked the people of West Bengal for giving a massive mandate to the ruling Trinamool Congress in the civic elections and called upon winning candidates and supporters to work with humility.
“Heart-felt gratitude to Ma-Mati-Manush for according yet another overwhelming mandate to us. Congratulations to the winning candidates of All India Trinamool Congress in the Municipal Elections,” she tweeted.
She, however, ruled out allegations of violence on the polling day as “baseless and a media overhype”.
The TMC secured Kanthi Municipality, the bastion of Leader of Opposition and Nandigram’s BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari.
It is a major setback for the Adhikari family which controlled the civic body for around four decades.
The TMC also won municipalities in the bastions of state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in Beharampore, BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh in Kharagpur and BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar in Balurghat.
Hamro Party (our party), a new outfit floated by Ajoy Edwards, a former GNLF leader and a popular restaurateur in Darjeeling, bagged the municipality in the hill town.
“I accept people’s verdict with all humility. My party will work for the overall development of the hills. Our target is to build a prosperous, inclusive, and progressive Darjeeling,” Edwards told reporters after his party’s stunning victory.
Reacting to the results, the BJP state leadership said it does not reflect the mandate of the people and the election was a “farce”.
The CPI (M) leadership, elated over its results, claimed the party is regaining its lost ground and would be the real threat of the ruling TMC in the near future.
Incidents of violence were reported from various parts of West Bengal from the north to the south in one of the most extensive electoral exercises in the state since the assembly polls last year.
