Even though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got a lead in 22 wards under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation in the general elections, as the majority of non-Bengali voters there voted for it, the president of Calcutta Gujarati Samaj Ravindrabhai Vaghani asserted that the community’s supports the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).
“We are with the AITC. The Gujarati community in Kolkata is happy with the work that AITC has done for them,” Mr. Vaghani told The Hindu here on Wednesday.
In a bid to recover lost ground in these wards, the AITC has ramped up its effort to reach out to the non-Bengali dominated wards in south and north Kolkata. Contrary to BJP’s claim that the ruling party in the State is rattled by the fact that it achieved lead in 11 wards in south Kolkata and six wards in north Kolkata, the AITC leaders put up a brave face. They are confident that AITC will retain its electoral dominance in the upcoming KMC election which is scheduled to take place in May next year.
AITC councillor in KMC’s ward number 70 Satchidananda Banerjee hinted that after the general elections his party increased its effort to reach out to the non-Bengali population in these wards. “I am personally meeting the non-Bengali voters in my ward,” Mr. Banerjee told The Hindu here on Wednesday. He also said that regardless of the general elections results, AITC has always reached out to the non Bengali voters in these wards.
He, however, claimed that the vote share of AITC in these wards “has remained the same.” Elaborating on his comment, Mr. Banerjee said that the BJP was able to get most of the votes of non-Bengali voters in these wards because “the Third Front was not a viable alternative to them. They were also not happy with the Congress.” The State BJP, however, is hopeful that its lead in the general elections in the 17 wards of north and south Kolkata will translate into seats in the KMC election. When contacted State BJP secretary Ritesh Tiwari said, “One of the main reasons for AITC’s attack on BJP workers is our lead in these wards.”
He also said that the non-Bengali voters in Kolkata have voted in “large numbers” for the BJP.”
The non-Bengali vote bank in the 17 wards in north and south Kolkata is crucial for both the AITC and BJP as it constitutes more than 50 per cent of total votes.
