The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal notched up significant victories on Wednesday, grabbing power in four of the seven civic bodies that went to polls on May 14. It also made significant in-roads into the hills, winning one of the four municipalities there.
The TMC won Mirik municipality in the Darjeeling hills, and Raiganj, Domkal and Pujali in the plains.
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-BJP combine won the other three hill municipalities — Kalimpong, Kurseong and Darjeeling.
The Left-Congress alliance, which is seen as the primary Opposition in Bengal, suffered humiliating losses, managing to win only a handful of seats across the 148 that went to polls. Trinamool won 68 (or 46 per cent) of the total seats contested.
Reacting to the verdict, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted: “Congratulations to Ma Mati Manush for again & again putting their trust in us. We are honored (sic), privileged & humbled.”
‘Hills are smiling’The most significant in-road the TMC made was wresting control of Mirik municipality, a traditional stronghold of GJM. Trinamool won six of the nine wards there.
This apart, it won seats across the other three municipalities — Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong.
“The hills are smiling,” Banerjee tweeted after her party’s good show.
GJM-BJP welcomed the victory in the three hill municipalities. “It is a victory of the people, and they have given their verdict against the neglect by the State government,” said BJM chief Bimal Gurung.
However, alliance partner and BJP MP, SS Ahluwalia, raised doubts on the Mirik municipality results and how they were announced before 9 am.
“There could be some discrepancy in the results,” he alleged while speaking to a TV channel.
The other significant in-road the ruling party made was into the plains, especially in Uttar Dinajpur district, where it wrested control of Raiganj municipality. It had been under Congress rule for nearly 15 years.
In Domkal municipality, the Left-Congress combine won three wards, but two of the winners have switched over to the TMC.
Congress leader Manoj Chakraborty claimed the results did not reflect the people’s will. “Everybody saw on television what all happened on the polling day. There was rampant terrorisation and intimidation of voters and opposition workers,” he alleged.
Incidents of violence had been reported from various areas that had gone to polls.
State BJP President Dilip Ghosh, too, alleged the elections in the plains were not free and fair.
“In the hills, where the CRPF was posted, there was not much violence...free and fair elections cannot be held in Bengal without the deployment of paramilitary forces,” he said.