TMC Stamps Its Supremacy In KMC Polls
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.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2021-12-22 08:14:32
About the Author
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.
View all posts by this Author
The results of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections have confirmed three things - one, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has further strengthened its support base in Kolkata after the assembly elections in May 2021; two, the BJP has rapidly lost support, even in areas where it had previously performed well; and three, there is a marginal revival in the fortunes of the Left parties.
By winning 134 out of the 144 seats in the municipal body with an astounding 72% vote share, TMC has decimated the opposition for all practical purposes. The vote share of BJP was an abysmal 9 percent and that of the Left Front was 11 percent. Mamata Banerjee hailed the results as a "win for democracy" while heaping scorn on the opposition. The celebrations were huge and defying Supreme Court orders, crackers were freely burst while party supporters used green gulal to smear each other in glee.
The results clearly showed that the BJP is fast becoming an also-ran in West Bengal. It had won 20% of the votes in Kolkata in May. This dipped to 9% now. As many as 116 candidates of the party lost their deposits while the party ceded the second spot to the Left and the Congress in 82 seats. It is clear that voters in Kolkata (as also in the rest of the state) are disenchanted with the party as it has not been able to keep its house in order after the assembly elections and its state leadership has completely wilted in the face of the Mamata Banerjee onslaught.
It will become increasingly difficult for the BJP to reclaim its position as the main opposition in the state. With no well known state level leaders and a voting population that is not easily swayed by the core Hindutva ideology, neither the charisma of Prime Minister Modi nor the oiling of the election machinery with unlimited funds will bring in the votes. Since the Left parties have a loyal support base, if they play their cards well and bring in youngsters to replace the discredited top leadership, they can win back the space being ceded by the BJP to become the main opposition once again. But for that to happen, the Left parties will have to change with the times and include reforms in their agenda, cater to the aspirations of young voters and win back the Muslim voters.
