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regular-article-logo Thursday, 25 April 2024

Civic poll results dent armour of invincibility

The leaders, some of whom enjoyed enormous clout in their areas for years, suffered stunning reversals in the civic polls that saw a sweeping victory for TMC

Our Bureau Published 03.03.22, 02:45 AM
Trinamul Congress leader Rabindranath Ghosh celebrates his win along with party supporters in Cooch Behar on Wednesday.

Trinamul Congress leader Rabindranath Ghosh celebrates his win along with party supporters in Cooch Behar on Wednesday. Picture by Main Uddin Chisti

Several prominent leaders could not ensure the victory of their party on their home turf in Sunday's civic polls whose results came out on Wednesday. These leaders, some of whom enjoyed enormous clout in their areas for years, if not decades, suffered stunning reversals in the civic polls that saw a sweeping victory for Trinamul. The Telegraph takes a look at leaders who suffered loss of face:

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

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Post: State Congress president and MP from Murshidabad’s Berhampore

Home turf: Berhampore Municipality (Murshidabad)

Result: The so-called Adhir magic didn’t work as Trinamul snatched municipality from the Congress, winning 22 of 28 wards. Congress won the remaining six. Congress even failed to grab power in any of the district's seven municipalities that went to polls on Sunday. In the previous polls, Congress ruled in five of the seven civic bodies.

Significance: This is the first time in the past 35 years when any political party apart from Congress won the Berhampore Municipality

Suvendu Adhikari

Post: Leader of Opposition in Bengal Assembly, BJP MLA from Nandigram

Home turf: Contai Municipality (East Midnapore)

Result: The municipality known as the citadel of the Adhikari family went out of Suvendu’s hands. Trinamul won 17 seats of the total 21 and captured the civic body.

Significance: Contai Municipality had been under the control of Suvendu Adhikari's family since the 1980s with father Sisir Adhikari.

Dilip Ghosh

Post: BJP’s Midnapore MP, party national vice-president, and former Kharagpur MLA.

Home turf: Kharagpur municipality (West Midnapore)

Result: Trinamul swept the Kharagpur municipality, winning 20 wards of 35 leaving six for BJP.

Significance: Kharagpur area, including the municipality, was a stronghold of BJP since the 2016 Assembly polls under the leadership of Ghosh who then became the Kharagpur MLA by defeating long-term MLA and Congress veteran Gyan Singh Sohanpal. In the 2021 Assembly polls too, the BJP had won the Kharagpur seat.

Arjun Singh

Post: BJP’s Barrackpore MP

Home turf: At least eight civic bodies in North 24-Parganas.

Result: Trinamul swept all the 25 municipalities in the districts including eight in which Singh was in charge in these civic polls.

Significance: Since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had shown growth in a large part of the district mainly in Barrackpore LS constituency. Areas like Garulia, Bhatpara went under control of the BJP under Singh.

Sukanta Majumdar

Post: Bengal BJP president, Balurghat MP

Home turf: South Dinajpur

Result: Overall loss apart, the saffron camp had to face defeat in South Dinajpur, Majumdar’s home turf where Trinamul won both in Balurghat and Gangarampur.

Significance: The state BJP chief had to bite the dust as his party failed to win even one of the 108 civic bodies of the state.

Bimal Gurung

Post: President, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha

Home turf: Darjeeling

Result: Hamro Party, a new political force, won majority in Darjeeling municipality. The Morcha could win only three wards.

Significance: Since 2007, when Gurung had floated his party, the Morcha held sway across the hills in all elections. This time it couldn’t.

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