CPM leads Front to early gains in panchayat polls

Making a clean sweep in the zilla parishad, the upper tier of panchayat, the CPI(M)-led ruling Left Front today eclipsed Opposition Trinamoo...

Making a clean sweep in the zilla parishad, the upper tier of panchayat, the CPI(M)-led ruling Left Front today eclipsed Opposition Trinamool Congress-BJP and Congress in West Bengal’s panchayat elections which witnessed unprecedented violence.

Of the total 712 seats in the zilla parishad, the Left Front secured 610 seats while the Congress bagged 69. The Trinamool-BJP combine got 21 seats. Congress snatched Malda and Murshidabad zilla parishads from the Left Front, which retained the remaining 15 zilla parishads with an overwhelming majority in Sunday’s elections. While the Congress bagged the Murshidabad zilla parishad, pipping the Left Front 31-29, the party snatched the neighbouring Malda zilla parishad, nudging out the Front by a slender margin.

The Front maintained its winning spree in panchayat samitis capturing 150 of the 160 seats, results of which are available so far. Panchayat samitis have 8,500 seats, while there are 48,000 in gram panchayats.

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Earlier, police fired nine rounds to disperse two groups of party workers when they tried to disrupt counting in Raninagar, Murshidabad. There was no casualty, police said. Reacting to the LF’s sweep, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee dubbed the results as the ‘‘outcome of CPI(M)’s terror and not a reflection of people’s support’’.

‘‘There is no democracy in West Bengal. It is total authoritarianism. The democracy-loving people in West Bengal should avoid Stalinist Buddhadev Bhattacharya as he is murdering democracy. He could not provide security to people and voters,’’ she said.

Reports from Canning said CPI(M) workers have allegedly ‘‘taken possession’’ of the RSP party office at Charabidya in South 24 Parganas district ‘‘forcibly’’. In a fresh incident after polls, five of a family with SUCI leanings were allegedly attacked by CPI(M) workers at Deulbari. Police said three were in a critical condition.