Daily News

Kolkata: There's been 25 per cent turnout in the first two hours of polling in the ongoing civic polls in West Bengal. However, the polls have been marred by reports of violence in at least two places.

In Burdwan district, the police was forced to intervene and lathicharge when the Trinamool Congress workers came to blows with the Congress workers. A polling booth in Kolkata's ward number 64 was also ransacked by outsiders.Sunday's polls are seen by many observers as a semi-final ahead of the 2011 Assembly polls in West Bengal. Voters across 81 municipalities in the state are voting today to elect representatives for the local civic bodies.

An estimated 7,029 candidates are contesting in these polls. A total of 85,33,238 voters will exercise their franchise in 1,792 wards.

Sunday's elections are likely to be a litmus test for the ruling Left Front which is in power in most of the civic bodies.

The Left Front controls 54 out of 81 civic bodies. However, a string of electoral defeats since the 2008 panchayat elections and last year's Lok Sabha polls have left the ruling alliance disheartened.

And although the failure of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Congress to reach an agreement on seat sharing in the Municipal elections has given the Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M) led front a reason to smile, what needs to be seen is whether it will be able to gain from the break-up.

This is because anti-incumbency runs high in West Bengal, which has witnessed an uninterrupted rule by the Communist parties for more than three decades. At present, the red bastion looks clearly vulnerable.

As far as the TMC and the Congress party are concerned, both seem to be trying to figure out if they can do well without an alliance.

Earlier this month, when the Congress demanded 51 seats, it was rejected by Mamata Banerjee who was willing to offer only 25 seats. The Congress rejected this as 'humiliating' and decided to put up candidates for all the wards.

However, according to analysts, the move was a calculated one by the Congress party which wanted to break the alliance. It is also learnt that the Congress does not want the TMC to be the sole face of the Opposition in the state.

If the TMC does lose out because of the split, it will force Mamata Banerjee to give importance to the Congress in 2011.

Meanwhile, the refusal of the outgoing mayor of Kolkata to contest the election has put the CPI(M) on the defensive.

And despite the break-up of Mahajot or the grand alliance with the Congress, Trinamool is fancying its chances of winning an absolute majority.