Kolkata: Much ahead of the panchayat elections’s polling, the Trinamul Congress emerged to have won the Birbhum zila parishad comfortably in a rare instance as the Opposition parties have been able to file nomination in only one seat out of 42 while the ruling party’s candidates filed nominations in rest 41, thus turning out to be uncontested winners.
The lone seat where the Opposition could contest is Rajnagar where a BJP candidate has filed its nomination.
Among the 19 panchayat samities in the district, the opposition candidates managed to contest only in five in yet another sign of the Trinamul’s victory uncontested in 14 others.
Out of 167 gram panchayats, the Trinamul looks confident of winning 154 seats uncontested.
Calculating the results the district Trinamul workers on Monday celebrated the party’s victory by distributing sweets among themselves.
The district has, however, seen rampant attacks allegedly by the ruling party workers on the opposition candidates during the filing of nominations.
On the possible polls results in Birbhum Trinamul secretary general Partha Chatterjee however claimed, “The people are convinced that if the Trinamul wins the Panchayat polls with Mamata Banerjee’s face on top, the development which has been underway will continue but if others come power, a divison will be created in the society or the dark rule of 34 years will return.”
Mocking the opposition, Trinamul Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal wondered, “I am surprised to find they could not file in all zilla parishad seats even. Were they obstructed? Fact is they have no manpower to contest polls.”
Slamming the ruling party BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha alleged, “It is a shameful history created in Birbhum.” CPI(M) MLA Sujan Chakraborty alleged, “It showed the Trinamul’s politics of taking control of power rather than uncontested victory before polling.
