TMC Dominates Bengal Panchayat Elections With Over 34,000 Seats Won

In the violence-stricken rural polls in Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress appears set for a significant victory, as the initial count of ballots indicates an insurmountable lead in the results declared by the State Election Commission. As of 8 am on Wednesday, the TMC has secured triumph in 34,359 gram panchayat seats and is leading in 752 seats. In comparison, its closest competitor, the BJP, has won 9,545 seats and is leading in 180 seats. The total number of gram panchayat seats being contested is 63,229.

The CPI(M) has secured victory in 2,885 seats and is leading in 96 seats, while the Congress has won 2,498 seats and is leading in 72 seats. Despite the counting process being relatively peaceful, isolated incidents occurred, including instances of bomb-throwing in Bhangar, a location where fatalities occurred in the run-up to the elections. As a result, central forces and state police resorted to firing on a disorderly mob on Tuesday night, resulting in injuries to supporters of the Indian Secular Front (ISF), policemen, and even an IPS officer.

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has emerged victorious in 6,134 Panchayat samiti seats and is leading in 61 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured victory in 939 seats and is leading in 149 seats. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) has won 165 seats and is leading in 14 seats, while the Congress has won 244 seats and is leading in 7 seats. The elections were conducted for a total of 9,728 Panchayat Samiti seats.

Furthermore, the TMC has achieved success in all 554 Zila Parishad seats declared thus far and is leading in 201 others. In contrast, the BJP has secured victory in 19 seats and is leading in 7 seats.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) has secured victory in 2 Zila Parishad seats and is leading in 2 more, while the Congress has won 4 seats and is leading in 10 seats. The total number of Zila Parishad seats being contested is 928. Despite suffering an injury during campaigning, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her gratitude to the people for their trust and support towards the Trinamool Congress (TMC), stating that the election results affirm the TMC's deep connection with the state's residents. The outcome of these elections is being closely watched by all parties as a potential indicator of the political landscape for the 2024 parliamentary elections in this region of the country.

The violence that marred the panchayat polls held on Saturday has resulted in at least 15 deaths, with 11 of them being from the ruling TMC. Since the announcement of elections last month, a total of 33 people have lost their lives in poll-related incidents, with the ruling party accounting for 60% of the casualties.

Allegations of vote tampering and violence from various parties led the State Election Commission (SEC) to order re-polling in 696 seats on Monday, which took place relatively peacefully. The intervention of the Calcutta High Court resulted in the deployment of central police forces during both the election and counting days.

While Bengal has a long history of violent rural elections, with a notorious incident in 2003 when 40 people were killed on a single day of polling, this year's violence received extensive media coverage, attracting national attention.

Governor CV Ananda Bose, who had gone to Delhi to report on the violence, stated on Tuesday that political parties should realize that elections are not a platform to demonstrate physical strength.

Meanwhile, vote counting for the three-tier panchayat polls, consisting of nearly 74,000 seats, including gram panchayat seats, panchayat samiti seats, and zilla parishad seats, commenced at 8 am on Tuesday under tight security measures. The counting process is taking place at 339 venues across 22 districts and is expected to continue into Wednesday. South 24 Parganas has the highest number of counting centers with 28, while Kalimpong has the fewest with four. Some northern districts are also experiencing inclement weather conditions.