Panchayat Polls: Trinamool set for thumping majority; close contest for second spot

Kolkata, July 12 (IANS) With counting of votes for the panchayat elections in West Bengal still underway on Tuesday, the trend 11 p.m. showed that while the ruling Trinamool Congress is maintaining a clear numerical supremacy in all the three tiers, there is a tight contest between the BJP and the Congress-Left Front alliance for the second position.

The final picture, according to sources in the State Election Commission, will not be available before Wednesday afternoon or even later.

Till 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Trinamool Congress is well ahead of the opposition parties bagging victory in as many as 36,665 gram panchayat seats (figures includes uncontested seats).

While the BJP has emerged victorious in 7,263 seats, the Congress-Left Front combine has won 4,208 seats (Congress 1,811, Left Front 2,397).

Others, which include the All India Secular Front (AISF) and Independents, have emerged victors in 1,732 seats. There has been a tie in as many as 744 seats, where the toss of the coin would decide the winner at a later stage.

Gram panchayat is the lowest tier in the three-tier panchayat system in the state.

In case of panchayat samiti, the second tier, Trinamool has bagged 2,319 seats, followed by BJP at 109, Left Front at 39, Congress at 36 and others at 2.

In case of zilla parishad, the highest tier, the trend for just 82 seats came till 11 p.m., with Trinamool either winning or leading in 81 seats and BJP in one seat.

Meanwhile, Trinamool's national General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee ridiculed leader of opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, for the latter's call for “No vote to Mamata” in the run-up to the rural civic body pols.

“The slogan ‘No Vote to Mamata’ has turned into 'Now vote for Mamata'," Banerjee said.