NEW DELHI, March 2: The ruling parties have continued to dominate the local body elections in their respective states. After the massive successes of the DMK in Tamil Nadu and BJD in Odisha in the local body elections last week, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) swept the municipal elections in West Bengal on Wednesday.
The chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s party registered a landslide victory in the West Bengal civic body elections capturing 102 of the 108 municipalities across the state, while four municipalities returned hung boards and one each won by the left front and the newly-formed “Humro Party.”
The BJP which hoped to win the state Assembly elections last week but ended up with 77 seats in the 292-member House, could not capture a single civic body and instead the TMC also retained the Contai civic body in east Midnapur, the area under the influence of Shubhendu Adhikari who defected to the BJP and defeated Banerjee in Nandigram by a slender margin.
The TMC is already in control of all the four municipal corporations including the Kolkata civic body.
Following its success in the 2021 Assembly polls, subsequent Assembly by-polls and Kolkata Municipal Corporation election, the TMC is now in control of all tiers of the elected houses in the state. Out of the 102 civic bodies won by the TMC, there is no opposition member in 31 municipalities.
The Left Front secured its victory in Taherpur Municipality in the Nadia district while both the BJP and the Congress failed to open their accounts while the Congress could not win even a single seat.
Surprisingly, the newly-formed Humro Party, the new entrant in north Bengal hill politics, won the Darjeeling Municipality. Unlike elsewhere in the state, the area surrounding Darjeeling witnessed no violence during the polls on Sunday. Ajay Edward, owner of a famous restaurant in Darjeeling and a social worker, floated the Humro Party in November last year which gave a new option for hill voters. Unlike the GJM and GNLF, the new party is not aligned to either the TMC or BJP. According to sources, it won 18 out of 32 seats in Darjeeling civic board.
Four municipalities—Beldanga in the Murshidabad district, Champdani in the Hooghly district, Jhalda in the Purulia district and Egra in the East Midnapore district—have witnessed a hung situation.
The TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee congratulated the people for giving her party the huge mandate. “Heart-felt gratitude to Ma-Mati-Manush for according yet another overwhelming mandate to us. Congratulations to the winning candidates of All India Trinamool Congress in the Municipal Elections. Let victory enhance our responsibility and dedication. Let triumph impart humility. Let us together work for peace, prosperity and development of the state. Jai Bangla!” Banerjee said in a tweet.
(Manas Dasgupta)
