Trinamool Congress sweeps West Bengal civic polls

West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress has swept the state’s civic polls held this month, winning 70 of the 92 municipal boards in the state.

The Left Front won only 6, the Congress 5 while 11 civic boards ended up in ties. The BJP failed to open its account.

But while Trinamool made mincemeat of the Opposition in the Calcutta city corporation, winning 114 of the 144 wards, they lost out in the northern city of Siliguri.

The Left Front won 23 wards in Siliguri, the Trinamool 17, the BJP 2, the Congress 4 and one ward went to an Independent candidate.

Former Left minister Ashok Bhattacharjee , the architect of the Left victory in Siliguri, said the northern town was 'the starting point of resistance to Trinamool terror'.

"We won the first round when we could ensure a peaceful election after which we knew we will win," said Bhattacharjee after the victory.

The Opposition Left Front has called for a 12-hour strike on Thursday across the state to protest against the ‘large-scale rigging and terror unleashed by Trinamool supporters’.

The BJP called a similar strike on the same issue on its own , while the Congress leaders said they were considering support to protest the ‘murder of democracy’ in the state.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee debunked the charges, reminding the Opposition “You have won enough wards, so why strike?”

CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakrabarty protested: “She talks as if we should be satisfied with whatever we get . She cannot run the state, she cannot hold a proper election, she even does not know how to talk.”

The polls have been marred by large-scale violence unleashed by Trinamool supporters with state police playing a mute spectator in most cases.

In Kolkata, one policeman was shot dead by Trinamool goons on the day of the poll but Mamata Banerjee ironically praised the city police as the ‘man of the match” .

In many civic boards like Naihati, where the violence was rampant, the Trinamool s made a clean sweep winning all the wards.

But in many civic boards, the Left seemed to be clawing back to a fighting position, running the Trinamool close.

The Congress won the civic board in its stronghold in Murshidabad, the fiefdom of former railway minister Adhir Chowdhury.