Kolkata, (Asian independent) With the non-existence of the Opposition, it was obvious that the Trinamool Congress will win the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) election but the party made a stunning record of mobilising more than 72 per cent of the vote share in this election.
The data available with the West Bengal election commission shows that the ruling Trinamool Congress has a vote share of 72.1 per cent while the opposition but the Left Front could not reach the double figures even.
While BJP struggled with 9.2 per cent, Congress was reduced to politically insignificant managing only 4.1 per cent of the vote share. Interestingly enough, the Left Front came up to the second spot with 11.9 per cent of the vote share.
However, considering the sharing of seats BJP still managed to retain the second spot with 3 seats while both Congress and CPI-M got 2 seats each.
The Independent candidates who mainly broke away from Trinamool Congress got three seats. Indications are strong that all these three independent candidates might walk back to their old party again. Trinamool Congress alone bagged 133 seats of the 144 Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
In 2015 the ruling Trinamool Congress had won 113 seats — the highest margin then while BJP had 7 seats and Congress and Left Front had 5 and 15 seats, respectively.
Three seats were won by the independent candidates. Interestingly enough, the BJP went back to its performance of 2010 when it had bagged three seats each. BJP had the best performance in 2019 Lok Sabha when considering the ward wise results, they had led in 22 wards.
Even in the 2021 assembly polls, the saffron brigade had a lead in 10 wards of KMC. It is perhaps the worst performance of the party in recent times.
On the other hand, the Left Front has been witnessing a gradual surge in their vote share since the Assembly by-polls. The Left has been traditionally strong in the rural areas of the state and the hinterland of Kolkata.
But its vote shares did not slip to single digit in the March-April Assembly elections. From Jadavpur (27.57 per cent), Kasba (17.56 per cent), Tollygunge (20.57 per cent), Behala Paschim (20.49 per cent), Behala Purba (13.60 per cent), Shyampukur (10.52 per cent), Maniktala (10.16 per cent) to Kashipur-Belgachia (10.94 per cent), the Left had maintained its double-digit vote share in KMC areas.
Interestingly enough, the Left Front had contested from 128 wards and had won two seats but they are in second place in 65 wards. On the other hand, the BJP had contested in all 144 wards (two candidates later withdrew), Though they have won in three seats – one more than the Left Front but they are in second position in 54 wards, much less than the Left.
