West Bengal: In a first, Trinamool Congress sweeps Siliguri rural polls

SILIGURI: Trinamool Congress swept the Siliguri rural polls, winning 19 of 22 gram panchayat and 8 of the 9-seat Siliguri Mahukuma Parishad (SMP). BJP came a distant second, with Left Front relegated to fourth position by Congress.
A total of 462 gram panchayat seats make up the 22 gram panchayats, whereas there are 66 panchayat samitis.
Of the 462 GPs, Trinamool bagged 320, BJ, Congress 21 and CPM 15. Other candidates won 20 seats. In the 66 samitis, Trinamool bagged 55, BJP 9 and Independents 2.
This is the first time that Trinamool, which had experienced a landslide win in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) polls in February, has secured a majority in the Siliguri rural polls, too. TMC had failed to win the elections in Siliguri since 2011. In the last rural body elections, Left had defeated Trinamool.
In the panchayat set-up in Siliguri subdivision, SMP forms the top tier, panchayats samitis form the middle tier and gram panchayats the lower tier. Their administrative role is spread across four blocks of Matigara, Kharibari, Naxalbari and Phansidewa. The polls were due since 2020, after the last in October 2015.
Darjeeling district (plains) Trinamool president Papia Ghosh said the win was the result of teamwork. She said the party would ensure peace and development in the region.