Civic elections are to be held in the state next year and the recent poll outcome in urban areas is a matter of concern for the Trinamool Congress
While the Trinamool Congress won 29 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in the recent elections, with the Bharatiya Janata Party bagging 12, and the Congress one, a close look at the results shows that the TMC performed below par in urban areas. Of 121 municipalities in the state, the BJP was ahead on 69 and it had the upper hand in 44 municipal wards of the 144 in Kolkata.
Taking note of this, TMC chairperson and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has called a review meeting with leaders of all municipalities on June 24. Civic elections are to be held in the state next year and the recent poll outcome in urban areas is a matter of concern for Trinamool.
Though Mamata Banerjee’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, providing stipends to women, proved popular in rural areas, it was overshadowed by negative factors for the TMC in urban parts.
Party insiders say that Mamata Banerjee and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee picked up on this as soon as the results were out and the TMC chairperson has already started reviewing it.
Sources said that Mamata on Thursday met Kolkata mayor and state municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim and raised various issues regarding urban areas. The CM also gave strict instructions to implement certain measures, they added.
The TMC chief will meet heads of all municipalities on Monday and “fireworks are expected there”, said a party leader.
According to experts and party insiders, councillors’ and local-level leaders’ high-handedness and faction fighting should be reduced.
Some councillors have a bad image and there are complaints that they are not available in times of need, they said, adding that some allegedly also take bribes for various works.
Campaigning on the state government’s welfare schemes has also not been done properly in various municipalities, said TMC sources. People in urban areas are generally not likely to take advantage of such schemes, they said.
Some party leaders also say that people who have not performed well should not be given election tickets next time.
