Agartala, Dec. 18: True to the prediction of chief minister Manik Sarkar, the Left Front made a clean sweep of the civic polls in Tripura securing absolute majority in the 12 nagar panchayats and the 35-member Agartala Municipal Council.

After a voter turnout of around 86 per cent, there were speculations that an anti-incumbency wave was sweeping through the state, which would ultimately benefit the Congress. But all speculations were put to rest once counting began at 7 am today.

The Congress could secure only five of the 35 municipal wards while the rest were captured by the Left Front. Former minister Ratan Chakraborty, former chairperson of the council, Asish Saha, Milan Das, Raju Dhyani and senior leader Amar Ranjan Gupta were the only Congress candidates who were able to win.

The Left Front made a clean sweep of Kailasahar, Khowai, Ranir Bazar, Belonia and Amarpur nagar panchayats. However, the Congress put up a tough fight in Dharmanagar, where it captured seven of the 19 seats.

In Kamalpur and Kumarghat nagar panchayats, the Congress secured two and three seats each. In Teliamura, Congress won five of the 15 seats but in Udaipur nagar panchayat of South Tripura, the Congress secured only two of the 19 seats.

In Sabroom subdivision, the Congress managed to win only one seat out of the 9 but its partner, Party for Democratic Socialism led by former CPM legislator Ajay Biswas, drew a blank.

In the previous civic polls held in December 2000, Trinamul had cut into the Congress?s vote bank but this year despite its absence, the party has performed badly.

Reacting to the poll outcome, PCC president Samir Ranjan Barman said ?scientific rigging of the Left Front in the last hour of the polling day,? tilted the balance.

He, however, admitted that organisational weakness of the Congress was also responsible for this debacle.

?Our failure lies in our inability to cope with the Left Front?s propaganda and in putting up a fight against rigging,? Barman said.

However, the Left Front attributed its success to the ?mature consciousness of the people and general acceptance of the Left Front?s policies?. CPM spokesman Gautam Das said the people of the state have taught the Congress a lesson.