None of the three major Opposition parties in Bengal came anywhere close to Trinamul Congress which posted a 4-0 clean sweep of the civic elections, the results of which were declared on Monday. While the Trinamul’s victory is not a surprise given how well it has oiled its poll-machinery making prudent use of the administration and its own organisational might, the question that Bengal begs is where is the Opposition?

“There is very little that the Opposition can do at this juncture, except wait. It took 34 years to oust the Left Front. Mamata Banerjee is not even half way there yet,” said a senior Congress leader.

A cursory study of the results of the four municipal corporations which went to polls on Saturday—Siliguri, Bidhannagar, Chandernagore and Asansol--- reveals that Trinamul has won 198 of the 226 wards where elections were held. The BJP has the highest at 12 across the four civic bodies, the Left seven and the Congress five. In four other wards, Independents held sway. Technically, the Left has finished second in Bidhannagar and Chandernagore municipal corporations, while in the remaining two _ _ Asansol and Siliguri _ it is the BJP. What would hurt the Left is that it had won the Siliguri civic polls in 2015, but the outgoing mayor, Asok Bhattacharya, a reluctant contestant this time, lost.

“Right or wrong, whatever she is doing, it cannot be denied that people are only voting for the Trinamul. This trend is not going to change overnight,” admitted a BJP leader.

While the official vote share is still awaited, Trinamul is likely to have received 87.61 per cent of the total votes polled. The BJP is at a distant second at 5.31 per cent, Left 3.1 per cent and the Congress at 2.21 per cent. Leaders of all the three parties agree in private that it is impossible to meet the Trinamul’s might with this level of ground support.

Bengal’s leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari described the election results as a farce. “(It is a mockery of democracy in West Bengal. The results prove that the election process for four municipal corporations was a farce.”

BJP state president Sukanta Mazumdar said the state election commission had behaved like the mythological blind king Dhritarashtra.

BJP leader Sisir Bajoria questioned how the deceased singer Dwijen Mukherjee’s vote be cast in Bidhannagar.

State Congress president Adhir Chowdhury felt the results weren't a true reflection of the people’s will. “The ruling party workers did not allow genuine voters to vote. This does not reflect the genuine will of the people,” Chowdhury said.

An immediate reason to give sleepless nights to the combined Opposition is the upcoming elections to the 108 civic bodies, of which Trinamul has already won four uncontested.

“Given the tight grip that the Trinamul has on the administration and police, we are finding it difficult to field candidates in the civic polls. It won’t be a surprise if the results of the remaining 108 boards are on the same line as Calcutta and these four municipal corporations.”

Trinamul Congress (TMC) candidate Deepali Murmu during a door-to-door election campaign for the upcoming Municipal Elections 2022, in Balurghat. PTI.

Trinamul Congress (TMC) supporters celebrate their win in municipal elections,at Suri in Birbhum district. PTI.

Trinamul Congress supporters celebrate after the partys win in Municipal elections at Salt Lake. PTI.

Trinamul Congress supporters celebrate after the partys win in Municipal elections at Salt Lake. PTI.