Abhishek Banerjee hails TMC's Tripura civic polls result as party wins 1 seat to BJP's 329

Member of Parliament Abhishek Banerjee, the General Secretary of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), praised his party's result in the Tripura civic body elections on Sunday, saying it was unique for TMC to emerge as the state's main opposition despite having a tiny presence there at the outset. "It is exceptional for a party beginning with negligible presence to successfully contest municipal elections and emerge as the PRINCIPAL OPPOSITION in the state with more than 20% vote share (1/2)," said Banerjee in his tweet. He praised the party's Tripura section for its election efforts, stating that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had "left no stone unturned to butcher democracy in Tripura."

"This is despite the fact that we commenced our activities barely 3 months ago and @BJP4Tripura
left no stone unturned to BUTCHER DEMOCRACY in Tripura. Congratulations to all the brave soldiers of @AITC4Tripura for their exemplary courage," he added in another tweet.

BJP wins hands-down in Tripura civic polls

According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP won the civic body elections in Tripura, emerging victorious in 329 of the 334 seats available, of which 217 of 222 seats it won via votes whereas others it won by default uncontested, in the Tripura civic body elections held on November 25. The CPI-M won three seats and the TMC and TIPRA Motha each got one seat. The electoral battle for 13 Urban Local Bodies became a focal point of interest, with the Supreme Court of India intervening in response to various applications filed by the TMC and the CPI-M, demanding the counting of votes in municipal elections to be postponed. The ruling BJP has swept the Agartala Municipal Corporation, Sabroom, Belonia, Melagarh, Sonamura, Amarpur, and Jiranaia Municipal Councils, according to state election commission data. Meanwhile, in Ambassa, the TMC won its first local election, while the CPI-M gained a seat.

At Ambassa, the TTAADC-led TIPRA Motha, which made its electoral debut in the civic elections, won one seat. Apart from that, the BJP retained its majority in other civic bodies such as Khowai and Teliamura, according to the statistics. The election was held on November 25 and had an overall voter participation of 81.54%. This is the BJP's first civic election after taking control in Tripura in 2018. Violent occurrences in the run-up to polls for the Agartala Municipal Corporation (AMC) and 12 other municipal bodies heightened tensions in Tripura earlier this month. 

In all, 334 seats were available in the state's urban local bodies, which included the Agartala Municipal Corporation (51 wards), 13 municipal councils, and six nagar panchayats. The Trinamool Congress received more than 20% of the vote and came in second place in 27 of the 51 seats in the AMC. 

"TMC has gradually made inroads in Tripura politics and the way in some parts the party secured the second position gives an indication that it is a rise for them," said Tripura's TMC steering Committee head Subal Bhowmik.

(IMAGE: PTI)