West Bengal: TMC makes a clean sweep in civic polls, Opposition bundled to the margins

TMC celebrate the party’s win in Bidhannagar civic polls.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee congratulated the people in these four civic bodies for voting for her party.

“This is a victory of maa, mati and manush. I want to congratulate the people for giving us this mandate. The election was held peacefully. The State Election Commission and the administration played important roles to ensure that people cast their votes. There was no trouble anywhere during polling. This verdict will allow us to work for the people with more determination. I would urge our workers and leaders not to respond to any provocation,” said Banerjee.

In Asansol, TMC won 91 wards out of 106 while the BJP got seven wards. The Congress and Left Front bagged three and two wards respectively. In Biddhannagar, TMC won 39 wards out of 41 while Congress and an Independent candidate won one each. Former Biddhannagar Mayor Sabyasachi Dutta, who returned to the TMC last year after unsuccessfully contesting Assembly polls on a BJP ticket, won the election.

Jubilant TMC supporters outside Bidhannagar counting centre .

In Chandannagar, the TMC won 31 out of 32 wards while Left Front got one ward.

In Siliguri, the TMC won 37 out of 47 wards while BJP, Left Front and Congress won five, four and one wards respectively. Outgoing Siliguri Mayor and senior CPM leader Ashok Bhattacharjee and BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh lost the election. Former North Bengal minister Gautam Deb who had lost 2021 Assembly polls, won the election

The TMC chief announced that Deb would become the Mayor of Siliguri. “In other civic boards, discussion will be held on who will become the Mayor. But in Siliguri, Gautam Deb will become the Mayor as he is the seniormost leader there,” said Banerjee.

She also targeted the BJP for pursuing “negative politics and doing no work for the people of north Bengal.”

A  child flashing victory sign symbolising win for TMC.

In 2015, when elections to these four civic bodies were held previously, the TMC had won Asansol, Biddhannagar and Chandannagar while the Left-Congress alliance won the Siliguri civic body.

Amidst isolated incidents of violence, over 71 per cent polling was registered in elections to the four municipal corporations on Saturday.

West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said, “The election was nothing but a farce. The people’s true mandate has not been reflected in the civic polls. Everyone saw how votes were looted by the ruling party workers. So the election results do not appear surprising. People knew what the result would be,” said Majumdar.

Reacting to the election result, senior CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty said, “People in Bidhannagar and Asansol witnessed what actually happened on the day of polling. It was ‘vote loot’ by the TMC.”

Bengal Congress president Adhir Chowdhury claimed, “Both the police and the state election commission remained mute spectators. People could not exercise their franchise properly. People will decide whether it was vote or loot.”
— with PTI inputs