KOLKATA: Decimating the Opposition in West Bengal civic polls, the Trinamool Congress won power in 102 civic bodies out of 108 with having no opposition in 31 municipalities. The Left Front managed to retain only one civic body while the Congress continued bleeding as its stake came down to zero after it
received a massive jolt in its Murshidabad stronghold.
Despite making deep inroads in north Bengal in the 2018 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP staged a poor-show in the civic polls failing to win a single civic body. The saffron camp even failed to secure its position ahead of the LF in terms of vote share. In an apparent incentive in its electoral position, the LF seems to have started regaining strength in the municipal elections.
The saffron camp received a massive set back in Contain municipality, the hometown of Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of Opposition who had defeated Banerjee in last year’s Assembly elections from Nandigram constituency. In the Assembly polls, BJP had secured lead in 18 wards out of 21 in the civic body but in the municipal elections, the saffron camp secured victory only in three seats.
Adhikari is a resident of ward 15 in Contain municipality but the BJP could not secure victory from there. TMC’s Tanushree Chakrabarty defeated BJP candidate by 228 votes. BJP’s state chief Sukanta Majumdar resides in ward 22 of Balurghat but the lotus failed to bloom in this area as well.
Also, the TMC secured victory for the first time in Behrampore municipality, the hometown of Congress’s state chief Adhir Chowdhury. The TMC bagged 22 seats out of 28. Taking jibe at the TMC’s victory in his stronghold, Chowdhury said, “They (TMC) could have won all 28 seats. The victory of those six Congress councillors is equivalent to reaching the peak of Everest without oxygen.’’
The Congress bled badly in its Murshidabad district citadel as the TMC snatched away all municipalities from the grand old party. CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakrabarty alleged that the results of the civic polls were nothing other than reflection of TMC’s muscle flexing.
After the debacle in the civic polls, the BJP on Wednesday called for an introspection meeting on March 5. Congratulating the candidates who secured victory, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee tweeted, “Heart-felt gratitude to Ma-Mati-Manush for according yet another overwhelming mandate to us.”