TMC Registers Landslide Victory In KMC Polls, Opposition Accuses Foul Play

Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress swept over the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Polls on Tuesday, December 21. The Party registered a landslide victory by clinching nearly 72 per cent vote share, bagging 134 out of 144 wards.

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), which emerged as the main opposition to TMC in the Assembly polls earlier this year, won three wards while the Left Front and the Congress managed to bag two wards each. The remaining three seats were won by Independents who expressed their desire to join the ruling Party.

Congratulating the party workers over the victory, TMC supremo Banerjee said that the victory would boost parties' national ambitions.

"I want to dedicate this triumph to the people of the state and 'Maa, Mati, Manush' (mother, land and people - TMC slogan for many years). Several national parties like the BJP, Congress, and CPI(M) fought against us, but they were all defeated. This is a victory of a daughter of the soil. This victory will show the way in national politics in days to come," she said, reported Economic Times.

She said that the election was conducted like 'a festival' and the people exercised their 'franchise peacefully'. Banerjee also informed that the victorious TMC Councillors would select the next mayor and deputy mayor in a meeting on December 23.

TMC National Secretary Abhishek Banerjee tweeted, expressing joy over the Party's victory.

BJP and Independents

The Left dominated the BJP's and independent vote percentage as it secured 11.87 per cent votes against the saffron party's 9.19 per cent.

Comparatively, BJP's vote share was 6 per cent below 2015 and 20 per cent less than the Assembly polls. However, the Left received 13 per cent fewer votes than the 2015 Civic polls but 7 per cent more than in the Assembly polls.

The Congress got 4.13 per cent of the votes while the Independents' share was 2.43 per cent, as per media reports.

Opposition Accuses Of Foul Play

Discouraged with the results, BJP called it the "reign of terror" and alleging that there was a lack of transparency and fairness during polls. Both BJP and CPI(M) have approached Calcutta High Court seeking fresh elections.

"We are surprised," said Samik Bhattacharya, BJP Spokesperson. The TMC should have won all the seats, given the kind of violence and booth-rigging. The case is slated to be heard on December 23.

The Opposition parties, which had sought central forces to monitor polling, have alleged that their polling agents were driven out of booths, and candidates were beaten up during voting on Sunday. Crude bombs went off at three places, leaving three injured. The turnout was about 64 per cent, while more than 200 people were arrested.

In response, TMC Secretary General Partha Chatterjee accused the Opposition of coming up with foul excuses for their poor show "In every election, the TMC is performing better and increasing its vote share. The Opposition is losing ground and people's support in each election. It is high time they reach out to the people instead of criticizing the ruling Party and coming up with excuses," he added.

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