Daily News

Kolkata: Riding the winds of political change, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress on Wednesday won the 141-ward city municipal corporation elections, inflicting a crushing blow to the ruling Left Front in the civic elections, dubbed as a semi-final before next year's Assembly polls.

In Sunday's election to a total of 81 civic bodies across 16 districts in West Bengal, Trinamool also tasted success in the districts where it alone bagged 20 of 43 municipalities, the results for which were available till Wednesday noon. The party bagged another eight civic bodies where it had local-level seat adjustment with the Congress. The Left Front registered wins in 12 municipalities while Congress lagged behind winning only in three.

The Trinamool Congress, which had already won two-thirds majority in the 141-member Kolkata Municipal Corporation, will not need the support of the Congress to rule Kolkata where her party has already captured 94 of the 135 wards the results of which were available.

The Left Front which was in power in KMC with 75 wards has managed to win in only 29 wards.

The Congress has so far got nine and the BJP three seats.

In the 2005 KMC polls, Left parties had won 75 seats, TMC 42, Congress 21 and BJP three.

Congratulating Mamata on her party's performance, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also the West Bengal Congress chief, said he accepted the people's verdict.

Mukherjee, speaking to reporters in New Delhi, said till the final results were out, it would be difficult for him to assess the "net loss or net gain" of the Congress, but said his party had lost some and gained some municipalities out of the 14 it held earlier.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate Mamata Banerjee for her excellent performance both in Kolkata and also in the districts. I accept the failure of the Congress to perform up to the expectations which we had. I accept the verdict of the people with all humility," Mukherjee said.