Trinamool Congress is on its way to a resounding victory in West Bengal’s three-tier rural polls, leaving the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) far behind. As per the latest results, Trinamool Congress is leading with a striking rate of over 80%, winning 2,302 out of 2,832 gram panchayat seats that have been declared so far. In contrast, BJP is a distant second, having won or leading in 7,080 out of the 63,229 gram panchayat seats at stake.
The State Election Commission officials have reported similar trends in the panchayat samiti and zilla parishad vote counts. However, the final results for all 3,317 gram panchayats, 341 panchayat samitis, and 20 zilla parishads will only be known tomorrow due to the time-consuming process of ballot counting.
Apart from BJP, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) secured the second-highest number of seats in the gram panchayat vote count, with a combined tally of wins or leads in 2,484 seats. Congress followed closely behind with 1,747 seats.
The results and trends observed in the rural polls differ from the 2021 assembly elections. Rural voters in West Bengal seem to have steered away from the Trinamool-BJP dominance and have opted for candidates from Congress and CPM in several places, particularly in south and middle Bengal.
The overall trends in the rural polls mirror the script of the 2022 urban civic polls, with Trinamool Congress dominating the opposition across the state, except for a few pockets of resistance, primarily in middle Bengal.
During the 2018 rural polls, Trinamool Congress had a walkover in 34.8% of the seats, securing a 56% vote share. However, in the following year’s Lok Sabha polls, the party’s vote share dropped to 43.3%. This time, Trinamool Congress has won 9.8% of the total panchayat seats uncontested, providing them with a clearer understanding of their popularity before the upcoming Lok Sabha vote in 2023.
In a surprising turn of events, Trinamool ally Anit Thapa’s Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha is leading in the hills, indicating a shift from the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 assembly results. Trinamool Congress has also breached the BJP stronghold of Alipurduar, and current trends suggest a likelihood of the party winning the majority of gram panchayat and panchayat samiti seats there.
Moreover, BJP’s grip on the Matua-dominated Thakurnagar zone seems to be slipping, and the party has faced setbacks in parts of Jangalmahal, including Jhargram, Purulia, West Midnapore, and Bankura.
On the other hand, Congress, the Left Front, and the ally Indian Secular Front have made inroads into minority-dominated districts like Murshidabad, Malda, North Dinajpur, Birbhum, North 24 Parganas, and Bhangar (South 24-Parganas). The voting pattern suggests that these parties have gained in terms of vote percentage and seats.
The outcome of the rural polls reveals the changing dynamics of West Bengal’s political landscape. While Trinamool Congress continues to maintain a stronghold, other parties are making notable gains, indicating an evolving scenario leading up to the crucial Lok Sabha elections next year.
Overall, the rural poll results signify a significant shift in voter preferences and set the stage for an intense political battle in the coming months as parties strategize and mobilize their support base.
