CALCUTTA, JULY 12: The CPI(M)-led Left Front today retained the Bidhan Nagar Municipal Board and thus managed to save some face after losing the Calcutta Municipal Corporation to the Trinamool Congress last week.In the crucial election for the post of the municipal chairman, CPI(M) candidate Dilip Gupta won for the second consecutive time, thus putting to rest speculation that last-minute cross-voting by councillors would again leave the Left wringing its hands. However, there was no upset and the Left won the 23-ward board by a margin of 12 votes to 11.Interestingly, the election process had got delayed and repolling had to be conducted in Ward 16 due to a technical snag in the electronic voting machine. The repolling on July 4 was marred by violence. The Opposition, including the Trinamool, had accused the CPI(M) of rigging the election and indulging in violence as ``a tactic to keep the voters indoors''.
