West Bengal civic polls: Mamata marches ahead in civic polls, BJP limps

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is leading in all seven municipal corporations where elections were held on Sunday in West Bengal, looking set to make major inroads in the four civic bodies in the hills of Darjeeling, a stronghold for years of BJP ally the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).

While the Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong corporations were held by the GJM, Mirik is a new municipality.In Raiganj and Domkal in the plains, traditionally Congress strongholds, too the Trinamool is forging ahead.

Opposition parties have demanded fresh elections in all these three municipalities after they withdrew their candidates from many seats on Sunday, polling day, because of violence and booth capturing, which they blame on the ruling party.

Left leader Sitaram Yechury called it a “mockery of democracy and blatant misuse of state machinery” while the Congress has gone to court seeking that the elections be cancelled. A Kolkata court will hear its petition this morning.