TMC storms forts of 3 BJP Union mantris in West Bengal panchayat polls

Trinamool’s panchayat poll juggernaut in Bengal rolled into the fortresses of Union junior ministers Nisith Pramanik, John Barla and Shantanu Thakur on Wednesday, exposing faultlines in the BJP troika’s vote base. In Nandigram, the home turf of leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari, BJP just about managed a slender lead over the all-conquering TMC.

BJP lost all five gram panchayat seats in Barla’s borough, the Lakhipara tea garden belt. The Union junior minister for minority affairs alleged rigging as the reason for the setback, saying the ballot boxes kept in the strongroom were replaced. He claimed a mismatch in photos of the ballot boxes to back his charge of tampering. Barla’s constituency Alipurduar has been a BJP stronghold since the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The saffron party also fared poorly in Thakurnagar’s Matua belt, the home of Bongaon MP and Union minister of state for ports, shipping and waterways Shantanu Thakur. The latter and his brother Subrata Thakur, BJP’s Gaighata MLA, reside at Ichhapur gram panchayat (No II) of Gaighata block. TMC candidate Rita Mandal, who has never been defeated since 1998, maintained her grip on Ichhapur. In Bongaon subdivision, TMC won 34 gram panchayats, while BJP bagged four.

In Cooch Behar, the stronghold of Union junior home minister Pramanik, BJP was trailing TMC till late Wednesday. Of the 2,507 gram panchayat seats in the district, TMC took 1,834 and BJP had 615.

While BJP gained initially, winning nine gram panchayats with TMC at 7, polling trends started changing late Tuesday. In Nandigram I, TMC bagged 15 of the 30 panchayat samitis while BJP won 14.