oppn parties Bengal: TMC Wins Civic Bodies In Style

News Snippets

  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Bengal: TMC Wins Civic Bodies In Style

By Linus Garg
First publised on 2022-02-15 08:57:42

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.

Trinamool (TMC) has swept the civic elections in West Bengal. While this was expected given the state of the opposition in the state, dissent in the TMC over ticket distribution had led observers to believe that there would be some problems for the party in some pockets. But the results show that the TMC retained its strongholds with increased vote share and performed exceedingly well in north Bengal where the BJP was making inroads.

It won the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation by winning 39 wards (total 41) with the Congress winning one and and an independent the other. Both the BJP and the Left drew a blank. Bidhannagar is a part of Kolkata (better known as Salt Lake City) but has a different corporation. It has witnessed rioting and malpractices in the last elections but this time, apart from small incidents, the voting was largely peaceful leading to a record turnout.

In Siliguri (north Bengal), it ousted the Left Front and thwarted BJPs attempts of taking over by winning 37 wards, more than doubling its tally with a 47.2% vote share. In Chandernagore, its dominance was total as it won 31 of the 32 wards with 59.4% vote share. The remaining seat was won by the Left Front. Similarly, in Asansol, it won 91 (74 last time) of the 106 wards after Babul Supriyo, the former Union minister and BJP leaders left the party to join the TMC.

After the victory, Mamata Banerjee said that it was her wish that the party becomes more courteous, capable and committed to work for the people after each victory. She also advised party workers to celebrate by thanking the electorate.

These elections once again confirm the fact that the BJP is fast losing ground in West Bengal, even in pockets where it was making inroads. The party has totally lost the plot and differences in the state unit have led to many leaders who left the TMC to join the party switching back. Other leaders have been expelled for anti-party activities. A weakened BJP is now in no state to take on the TMC and had yielded the second spot to the Left Front in many places.