Left wins Durgapur,but low margin elates Opposition

From 2006,the CPM votebank has been showing a slow decline in Durgapur,even though the party has been in control of the seat since 1977.

In the 2006 Assembly polls,the party’s victory margin was 41,000 votes. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections,it slipped to 15,000. And the latest figure of 8,817 does not augur well for the leaders at Alimuddin Street. The sudden death of power minister Mrinal Banerjee,who had won the seat in the 2006 Assembly polls,had necessitated the bypoll.

The Trinamool Congress,which fell out with the Congress during the recent civic polls,had backed Pramanik after party chief Mamata Banerjee had met Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee recently.

The Opposition described the by-poll result an indication of Left Front’s “impending defeat” in the coming Assembly elections in 2011.

Welcoming the verdict,state Congress chief Manas Bhuniya said: “The CPM should not celebrate the victory as the margin shows that the anti-CPM wave is very strong.”

Trinamool leader Partha Chatterjee blamed the loss on the July 5 Bharat bandh. The by-poll was held that day and he said many of his voters had failed to reach polling stations.

“The result shows the Left Front have lost the mandate to rule and they should announce fresh elections,” he added.

Bhattacharjee,however,dubbed her victory as a reflection of “the people’s anger against the Centre’s failure to contain inflation and hike in fuel prices”. “It is also the people’s way to protest against the terror unleashed by the Opposition in Bengal,” she said. The victory,she added,was all the more heartening since it comes during what is dubbed the “winds of change”.

Burdwan district,where Durgapur lies,has been a CPM stronghold. But of late,the Trinamool Congress made rapid inroads,capturing several municipalities in the recent civic elections.

Apart from the Asansol Municipal Corporation,the Trinamool is also running the municipalities of Kulti and Guskara,and has won from Memari,Kalna and Dainhat. The Congress,on the other hand,is running the Katwa municipality. (With PTI inputs)