Daily News

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) worked clashed in several parts of West Bengal on Sunday during civic body polls in which about 65 percent voters participated.

The polls -- seen as a semi-final before the 2011 Assembly elections -- were held in 81 civic bodies and in the 141-ward Kolkata Municipal Corporation involving an electorate of 85 lakh. In Burdwan, nine persons, including two policemen and a Trinamool candidate, were injured when Trinamool and CPI-M activists clashed during polling in Jamuria municipality.

Police said the two sides clashed while voting was on at Sripur and threw stones at police jeeps. Sripur police station officer-in-charge Saikat Ray, an unidentified policeman and Trinamool candidate Sadhan Chandra Ray were injured in the violence.

In another incident, one person was injured when a constable of the Tripura police opened fire at a polling booth at Patuli in South 24-Parganas district.

Trinamool supporters clashed with police in some wards of Hooghly district. Twenty-three arrests were made in the district for violence, police said.

The IGP said Trinamool workers ransacked a police van at Sripur in Burdwan district.

Some crude bombs were recovered from Liluah in Howrah district where police seized two motorcycles and made one arrest.

EVM hitches slowed down the polling process in some booths, the officer said.

Polling which began at 7 A.M. amid tight security ended at 3 P.M. He said para-military forces were extensively used for guarding booths and in mobile patrolling.

In 2005, of the 81 civic bodies, the Left had won 55. For the Left, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) polls are a prestige issue since it had snatched it from the Trinamool in 2005.

All the three major players -- Left, Trinamool and Congress -- have a lot at stake in the municipal polls.

For Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, a good showing by the Left can be projected as their revival from the debacle of the last Lok Sabha elections when it won just 15 seats out of 42 against Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee's 19.

For the Trinamool chief, who has campaigned vigorously for the polls, the results are expected to indicate whether she will ride to power in the assembly polls due next May.

An important factor is that Trinamool has parted ways with the Congress for the civic polls and may choose to go it alone in the assembly elections if the outcome of today's exercise went in its favour.