Elections to seven civic bodies in West Bengal may have ushered in a new era in the hills, as claimed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the first time making inroads in the Darjeeling hills. However, elsewhere it was still the same old story of political violence, intimidation, and the Opposition calling the elections a farce.
Four civic bodies in the Darjeeling hills (Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong, Mirik) and three in the plains (Domkal, Raiganj and Pujali) went to polls on May 14. While there were hardly any reports of irregularities in the hills, the elections in the plains saw large-scale violence. Bombs were hurled, EVMs were destroyed, and in certain places not only voters but even police personnel deployed at polling booths had to flee the scene to escape violence.
Results declared on May 17 showed the TMC sweeping the three civic bodies in the plains; it also won the Mirik Notified Area in the hills. The remaining three municipalities in the hills went to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). Neither the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nor the Left Front-Congress combine was able to put up any resistance to the TMC. In the three municipalities of Domkal, Raiganj and Pujali, the Opposition parties won either one or two wards. The TMC’s win at Mirik is the first instance in the past three decades of a political party that is not from the hills winning a civic body in the Darjeeling hills, where local parties have dominated the political scene.
Switching sides
Much to the surprise of the electorate of Domkal municipality in Murshidabad district, two councillors who won the polls with the support of the Congress and the Left Front joined the TMC soon after the results were announced. An independent candidate from the Pujali municipality in South 24 Parganas also joined TMC within hours of the announcement of results. Elected representatives from the Opposition switching sides, an alien phenomenon in West Bengal politics till a few years ago, has now become common. After the 2016 Assembly polls, in which the TMC returned to power with a massive mandate, at least five Congress MLAs and one Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA have joined the ruling party.
Though the elections were held in only seven municipalities, the outcome makes it clear that the TMC remains the most dominant political force in the State. The Opposition parties — both the BJP which claims to have emerged as the main Opposition force, and the Left Front-Congress combine which is struggling to keep itself politically relevant — have a long way to go before they can pose a challenge.
Meanwhile, after what was seen at Pujali, Domkal and Raiganj on polling day, the West Bengal State Election Commission will have to give serious thought to whether it can rely on West Bengal police alone for smooth conduct of the panchayat polls scheduled next year.
