Journalism of Courage
A year after it formed government with the Congress after a landslide victory in the Assembly election,Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress today passed its first major popularity test by winning four of the six municipal bodies it separately contested in the last Sunday’s civic poll,barring a setback at Haldia.
The party wrested the prestigious Durgapur municipal corporation in Burdwan district and Dhupguri in north Bengal,Left citadels for three decades,and bagged the Nalhati municipal body in Birbhum district where Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s son Abhijit Mukherjee,local MLA,was an active campaigner.
The other civic body the TMC won was the Panskura municipality in East Midnapore district where it was in power with the Congress.
An 86 per cent turnout was recorded in the civic election held last Sunday.
At Nalhati,which was a prestige fight for the Congress,the party had captured power in the 2007 election,but the civic board changed hands after some of the Congress councillors,led by its chairman,switched allegiance to TMC after the 2011 Assembly polls.
In the 2011 Assembly election,Abhijit secured a substantial lead in 14 out of 15 wards in the municipality,thanks to the alliance with the TMC.
“We are defeated. I own the responsibility. In some wards our candidates have been defeated by 6 or seven votes. So our result is not so bad”,Abhijit said in his reaction after the verdict.
A saving grace for the Left,but a setback for the TMC,was its retaining power at the Halida municipality,the state’s second rich civic body after the Kolkata municipal corporation.
The victory is all the more sweet for the Left as the CPI-M strongman in Haldia and former MP Lakshman Seth was now in jail in connection with an abduction-cum murder case of seven anti-land acquisition agitators in Nandigram.
Though the TMC won the Haldia Assembly seat in the last Assembly election,its setback this time may be attributed to infighting involving party MP Subhendy Adhikary and MLA Shiuli Saha.
For the Congress too,the victory at Coopers Camp civic body,its traditional stronghold in Nadia district,came as a sort of consolation.
All 129 seats in the six civic bodies spread over five districts practically witnessed three-way contests between TMC,Left Front and the Congress.
Of the 129 seats,the TMC won 72,CPI(M)-led Left Front 38,Congress 15,BJP three and an independent one seat.
The Congress failed to open its account in Panskura,Haldia and Dhupguri.
The civic poll results came ahead of the panchayet election in 2013 which would turn out to be a major trial of strength in the state before the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
At Haldia,the Left Front captured 15 of the 26 wards. The remaining 11 seats went to the TMC.
The Cooper’s Camp civic body saw Congress winning 11 seats,while the Trinamool could manage only one seat there and the Left failed to open its account.
In Panskura where the TMC was in power jointly with the Congress but fought the election alone this time,the former won 12 seats while the Left Front bagged 5.
In Nalhati,the TMC won 8 seats,the Left Front and the Congress 3 seats each,while the BJP won 1 seat. In Dhupguri,the TMC won 11 seats,while the Left Front won 4 and the BJP 1 seat.
At Durgapur,the TMC won 29 seats ousting the Left Front from power after 15 years. The Left Front which had won in 37 of the 43 seats in 2007 bagged 11 seats this time. The Congress,the BJP and others won 1 seat each.
In Cooper’s Camp,the Congress emerged victorious with 11 seats while the TMC managed to win 1 seat and the Left Front drew a blank.
The TMC snatched Dhupguri municipality in Jalpaiguri district in the north from the Left. It was a major gain as the Left retained Dhupguri Assembly seat last year despite losing the state.
“Trinamool Congress has enough strength to rule Bengal”
In a clear message to ally Congress,the Trinamool Congress today said the civic poll results have demonstrated that the party has enough strength to rule West Bengal alone.
The Congress,on the other hand,said that if the TMC so decides,it can go ahead and fight alone.
“It has been proved by the results of these elections that the Trinamool Congress has enough strength to rule Bengal alone”,the party’s all-India general secretary Mukul Roy told a press conference after results were out for the six civic bodies in the state.
“It has been established that in Bengal that Trinamool can fight and win elections alone. We fought against CPI(M),Congress,BJP and the Maoists”,Roy,also the Railway Minister,said.
“The results have shown that not only CPI(M),but there are some other parties which are going to be insignificant in Bengal politics”,Roy said.
“The results of the civic polls have proved that the people are with Trinamool Congress and again they have shown confidence in the leadership of Mamata Banerjee”,he claimed.
Reacting to Roy’s statement,state Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya said,”If they (TMC) has decided to fight alone,let them fight alone. God bless them. We have not said we will fight alone”.
He said that if that situation indeed appeared,the Congress would also fight the election.
Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury said that its convincing victory at Cooper’s camp proved that Congress could also fight alone.
Though allies in the central and state governments,Trinamool Congress and Congress contested the civic elections separately.
On Congress retaining the Cooper’s Camp civic body in Nadia district,Roy said it was a “stray happening” and is “not significant”.
Trinamool secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said,”Earlier we had seven seats in Haldia when we were in alliance with the Congress,this time we have won 11 seats by going it alone”.
The polls to six civic bodies were the first major local elections after the 2011 Assembly polls when Trinamool Congress had stormed to power ending the Left Front’s 34-year rule in West Bengal.
Trinamool won in Left citadel Dhupguri,Panskura and Nalhati and in the industrial township of Durgapur. Left Front managed to retain Haldia municipality,while Congress retained Cooper’s Camp civic body.
