Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress took a big lead as votes for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections were counted on Tuesday under heavy security. The Trinamool Congress has won 17 of the 144 seats of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, for which voting took place on Sunday. The party is leading in 116 seats. The state’s ruling party has a vast lead over its nearest rivals, the BJP and the Left, which are leading in three wards each. The Congress is leading in just two wards.
The Trinamool, which returned to power earlier this year with a giant victory over its challenger BJP, seems to have made gains in the civic body since 2015 when it won 114 seats. The BJP and the Left are both headed towards a significantly lower tally than the previous polls. The Congress remains at number 4 and is expected to finish with fewer seats than before. The Left and the Congress, after fighting the assembly election in an alliance, decided to contest the Kolkata civic polls separately. No party has announced any face for the post of Mayor.
One of Trinamool’s prominent candidates this time is Kajari Banerjee, the sister-in-law of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She is leading by over 3,000 votes at ward number 73, Bhowanipore. The Bengal BJP has alleged violence and poll violations in the civic election. In a letter to the state Election Commission on Sunday, the party described the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) polls as a farce and alleged that the police failed to check violence. Earlier, the Trinamool Congress had accused the BJP of trying to draw voters with the lure of Biryani in one of the wards. During the vote on Sunday, there were sporadic incidents of violence. Bombs were allegedly thrown at two polling booths.