Newsinc24 Team 
West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) swept the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) polls by winning 134 out of 144 wards on Tuesday. The BJP, which had emerged as the main opposition party in the Assembly polls earlier this year, won three seats, while the Left Front and Congress won two each. The Independents, with three seats, ended an equal footing with the non-TMC parties. The TMC got nearly three-fourths of the votes cast (71.95%), the Left Front 11.13% and BJP 8.94%. The Congress got just 4.47% of the votes, while 3.25% people voted for Independents. Chief minister Mamta Banerjee said the BJP and Left have been washed away. “The Congress has been sandwiched between these two losers. This reflects on national politics as well. ...Bengal and Kolkata will show the path to the people of India,” In a tweet, Banerjee said: “Heartiest congratulations to all candidates for your victory in the KMC elections. Remember to serve people with utmost diligence and gratitude! I wholeheartedly thank every single resident of KMC for putting their faith on us, once again.”
The BJP called the results a farce. Spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said sarcastically: “We are surprised. The TMC should have won all the seats given the kind of violence and booth-rigging that took place.” The Opposition parties, which had sought Central forces to monitor polling, have said their polling agents were driven out of booths and candidates beaten up during Sunday’s voting. Crude bombs went off at three places, leaving three injured. There was about 64% polling and more than 200 arrests. The BJP and CPM have moved the Calcutta High Court seeking fresh elections. The case will be heard on December 23.
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