TMC supporters celebrate as the party secured a lead in a chunk of the 144 KMC seats. (Express photo by Partha Paul)Kolkata Municipal Election 2021 Results: The Trinamool Congress Tuesday registered a landslide victory in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections, winning 134 of the 144 wards. The BJP, which had emerged as the main opposition party in the Assembly polls earlier this year, won three seats, while the Left Front and Congress won two each. The Independents, with three seats, ended an equal footing with the non-TMC parties.
Counting of votes for 144 wards of KMC began this morning at 8 am.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee thanked the people of the metropolis for the “massive” victory. “I want to dedicate this triumph to the people of the state and ‘Maa, Mati, Manush’ (mother, land and people – the slogan of TMC). Several national parties like the BJP, Congress, and CPI(M) also fought against us, but they were all defeated. This victory will show the way in national politics in days to come,” Banerjee told reporters outside her residence.
In 2015, when the KMC elections were last held (they were put off last year due to Covid), the TMC had won 124 wards, the Left 13, the BJP 5 and Congress 2.
Citing incidents of violence during the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections on Sunday, the BJP and CPI(M) Monday moved the Calcutta High Court seeking a repoll.
The three main Opposition parties, BJP, CPI(M) and Congress, organised protests alleging vote rigging and booth capturing by “TMC workers”.
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The 10 candidates, not belonging to the Trinamool Congress, who won the KMC polls include BJP's Meena Devi Purohit, Vijay Ojha and Sajal Ghosh, Congress' Santosh Pathak and Wasim Ansari, CPIM's Nandita Roy, CPI's Madhuchhanda Dev, and Independents Rubina Naaz, Purbasha Naskar and Ayesha Kaniz.
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Several first-timers, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s sister-in-law Kajari Banerjee, registered victories while there was cause for triple celebration in TMC leader Tarak Singh’s household as apart from him both his son Amit and daughter Krishna also won.
Kajari, who is the wife of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s brother Kartik, won from ward 73 in her debut election by 6,493 votes. After Mamata and her nephew Abhishek, she is the third person from the Banerjee family to contest an election.
Urban Development Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya’s son Sourav Basu, who quit a corporate job to join politics about three years ago, also secured an electoral victory on debut by flipping ward 86 that the BJP had won in the last civic polls.
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The Trinamool Congress Tuesday registered a landslide victory in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections, winning 134 of the 144 wards. The BJP, which had emerged as the main opposition party in the Assembly polls earlier this year, won three seats, while the Left Front and Congress won two each. The Independents, with three seats, ended an equal footing with the non-TMC parties.
In terms of vote share, there was better news for the Left, as it finished ahead of the BJP.
In 2015, when the KMC elections were last held (they were put off last year due to Covid), the TMC had won 124 wards, the Left 13, the BJP 5 and Congress 2.
The TMC got nearly three-fourths of the votes cast (71.95%), the Left Front 11.13% and BJP 8.94%. The Congress got just 4.47% of the votes, while 3.25% people voted for Independents. Read More
Official trends and results by West Bengal State Election Commission:
TMC wins 89 and leads on 44
BJP wins 1 and leads on 3
CPI wins 1
CPI(M) wins 1
Congress wins 2
Independent candidates lead in 3
Congratulating all TMC candidates who secured a win in the KMC polls, party chief Mamata Banerjee reminded them to serve the people with 'utmost diligence and gratitude'.
Meanwhile, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said the polls results show that "politics of hate and violence" have no place in West Bengal. From the official TMC handle, a tweet thanked the people of Kolkata for their faith in the party.
BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, "We are surprised to see this result. It is unexpected. The TMC should have won all the seats given the kind of violence and booth rigging took place on the day of polling."
Sporadic incidents of violence, including hurling of bombs at two booths, marred the KMC elections on Sunday. The BJP, CPM and Congress on Monday staged separate protests in the city demanding fresh elections to the civic body.
As the TMC was leading in 133 of 144 KC seats, party supremo and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said they have secured a "landslide victory" as they work at the grassroots. "Kolkata is now the safest city (in the country). We have already beautified the city. My intention now is to see that urban area, semi urban area and village area are developed," she said.
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Two voters were injured after two crude bombs were hurled outside Taki High School in Sealdah area on the day of polling on Sunday. Both TMC and Congress held each other responsible for the incident.
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Two voters were injured after two crude bombs were hurled outside Taki High School in Sealdah area on the day of polling on Sunday. Both TMC and Congress held each other responsible for the incident.
See photos here
A minor clash broke out between supporters of Congress winning candidate Santosh Pathak and TMC workers outside Netaji Indoor Stadium where counting of votes is being held.
The police however disperse the mob soon and brought the situation under control.
State minister and senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim won the election from ward 82. This is his fifth victory as a TMC councillor.
"We have never achieved such a massive victory before. Even in terms of state Assembly polls, our vote share has increased. We are delighted to get people's support and blessings. We sincerely thank them," said Hakim who is former Kolkata Mayor and chairman of board of administrators at KMC.
Senior TMc leader Tarak Singh and his family members who contested the polls won from their respective wards. While Singh has won the election from ward 118, his daughter Krishna Singh and son Amit Singh won from wards 116 and 117 respectively.
Meanwhile, Congress candidate Santosh Pathak won the election from ward 45 by a margin of 1,956 votes.
Saurav Basu, son of state minister and senior TMC leader Chandrima Bhattacharya, won the election from ward 86.
TMC candidate from ward 108 Sushanta Kumar Ghosh won the election. Meanwhile, the party's candidate Ananya Bandyopadhyay also won the election from ward 109 by a huge margin of 37,668 votes. TMC candidate from ward 115 Ratna Sur emerged victorious as well.
BJP candidate from ward 22 Meena Devi Purohit wins the election. This is her sixth straight victory in KMC election.
Another BJP candidate Bijay Ojha wins from ward 23. This is his third straight victory.
The KMC election on Sunday was marred by violence with parties in Opposition in the state — the BJP, Congress and the CPM — complaining that polling agents were driven out of booths, candidates were beaten up, and booths were rigged by workers of the Trinamool Congress.
In three areas, crude bombs were hurled, leaving three injured. About 64 per cent polling was recorded during the day while more than 200 people were arrested by the police.
The BJP, CPM and Congress on Monday staged separate protests in the city demanding fresh elections to the civic body. The BJP and CPM, on the other hand, have moved Calcutta High Court with a similar demand. The case will be heard on December 23.
Results in some of wards have already been declared where TMC candidates have won the election. TMC heavyweight candidates Debasish Kumar (ward 85), Tarak Singh (ward 118), Mala Roy (ward 88) and others have already won the election.
The TMC is all set to make a clean sweep in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) election with its candidates leading in 133 wards out of total 144.
The Left Front is distant second with the party leading in 4 wards while the BJP, which emerged as the main Opposition party in West Bengal after Assembly polls, is at the third position with its candidates leading in 3 wards.
The Congress is leading in 2 seats while independent candidates are leading in two seats.