In many circumstances it will be foolish to read broad political trends by merely assesing the results of seven small local body elections in a state.
But the poll results in the seven Bengal municipalities do indicate the four principal directions politics in the state is taking right now.
The first will be that Trinamool Congress has got a strong stranglehold in south,central and north Bengal, barring a few pockets of resistance and despite the widespread charges of vote-rigging. Two, it has also become the first “plains” party in recent times to get a toe in in Hills politics. Three, the Left-Congress combine stands the risk of increasing political irrelevance if it does not set its house in order very soon. Four, the erosion in Left-
Congress vote share will continue to help BJP as it tries to corner the principal opposition space in Bengal.
For the record, the Trinamool bagged all three plains municipalities; it retained Pujali and wrested Domkal and Raigunj from Congress. It also became the first party from the plains to wrest a Hills civic body (Mirik). The GJM indicated that it was not yet a spent force in the Hills by retaining the three bigger Hills municipalities — Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong — quite comfortably. And the Left-Congress appeared to have been decimated from Raigunj in North Dinajpur and Domkal in Murshidabad as it failed to put up even a semblance of a fight to the Trinamool on voting day in what used to be its bastions.
With the Calcutta HC refusing to entertain a Congress petition seeking to suspend results in the Pujali, Raigunj and Domkal municipalities or countermand the poll process and order fresh polls, the morning restraint gave way to celebrations for the ruling party workers.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee herself singled out the Mirik victory for special mention.
“Special thanks to Mirik for reposing faith in us. We will work sincerely for you. After so many decades we begin a new era in the hills. The hills are smiling,” she said. Mirik embraced Trinamool Congress with open arms, giving it 6 seats against GJM’s 3. Trinamool Congress, however, failed to match its Mirik performance in Darjeeling (it won only one out of 32 seats), Kurseong (it won three of the 27 seats) and Kalimpong (it won two out of 23 seats). However, in winning 11 Hill wards, wresting control in one on its own, the ruling party obliterated a four-decade old political status quo here.
It is Trinamool Congress results in the plain municipalities which is expected to bolster its confidence.
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