West Bengal Panchayat Election results: What led to TMC's landslide win; where do BJP, CPI (M) and Congress stand?

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has registered a landslide victory in the three tier West Bengal Panchayat elections by winning or leading in more than 35,000 seats while its closest rival Bharatiya Janata Party is poised for a distant second with only over 9,800 seats. The once-mighty Communist Party of India (Marxist) is heading for the third position while the Congress party managed to win or lead in a very few gram panchayat seats.  

The state has been witnessing widespread violence since the announcement of the panchayat elections on June 8. The number of deaths in election-related violence has touched 48, according to reports. At Least six fresh deaths were reported from across the state even on the counting day, Wednesday, July 12.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced compensation for the families of 19 victims who died during the poll violence. On the other hand, the BJP has sent a four-member fact finding committee led by Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad to visit the violence-hit areas in West Bengal.

West Bengal Panchayat Election 2023 results

As the counting is in progress the TMC emerged winner or was leading  in more than 35,500 seats of the total 63,229 gram panchayat seats, as of Wednesday, July 12. The main opposition BJP won or was leading in more than 9,800 seats by Wednesday. On the other hand, CPM won or was leading in more than 3,000 seats while Congress’s wins or leads stood at over 2,600 by the end of Wednesday.

At the Panchayat Samiti level, TMC registered over 6,600 wins or leads while the BJP secured only a little over 1,000 seats, including the leads. The CPM finished fourth with only nearly 200 wins or leads while the Congress grabbed more than 270 seats, including the leads, by the end of Wednesday.  

The CM Mamata Banerjee-led party is also on its way for a landslide victory at the Panchayat Samiti level as it has won or leading in all 20 Zilla Parishads, while the BJP has failed to bag any Zilla Parishad.  

The counting of votes for nearly 74,000 seats, which also include 9,730 Panchayat Samiti seats and 928 Zilla Parishad seats, apart from 63,229 gram panchayat seats began at 8am on Tuesday.

The polling for three-tier panchayat election comprising 3,317 gram panchayats, 341 panchayat samitis and 20 zilla parishads was held on July 8.

What led to TMC's landslide victory in Panchayat Election?

The ruling party’s thundering victory in the Panchayat election can be attributed to a combination of several key factors that resonated with the voters. First is the incumbency advantage, which worked in TMC's favour as the party has been ruling the state since 2011. Mamata Banerjee's popularity across the state, specifically in rural areas, pushed other parties out of the competition, as neither the BJP nor the Left or Congress have such an appealing leader when it comes to wooing the voters. The absence of a formidable alternative to the Trinamool Congress worked to their advantage, as it prevented the consolidation of anti-incumbency votes.

Further, TMC's victory can also be attributed to its strong hold at the grass-roots level. Ever since the BJP jumped into electoral politics in West Bengal, the TMC has always portrayed itself as a defender of Bengali identity and culture while accusing the saffron party of being outsiders trying to impose their agenda on the state.