The BJP on Wednesday said it has improved its tally in the West Bengal panchayat polls from 2018 despite facing "brutal oppression" and claimed that signs are “ominous” for the ruling Trinamool Congress which will be "buried deep" in the coming elections.

Crediting the people of Bengal and BJP workers for the performance, the principal Opposition party in the state noted that it is way ahead of Congress, Left, ISF and others put together.

The ruling Trinamul Congress (TMC) was poised to sweep West Bengal’s violence-scarred rural polls. According to the State Election Commission (SEC), the Mamata Banerjee-led party won 34,901 gram panchayat seats out of a total 63,229 seats whose results were declared and it was leading in 613 seats. The BJP emerged as the closest rival with the party winning 9,719 seats and it is leading in 151 seats. The CPI(M) won 2,938 and is leading in 67 seats. The Congress won 2,542 seats and is leading in 66.

Reacting to the results, BJP's co-incharge for the state Amit Malviya said on Twitter, “West Bengal Panchayat Polls were marred with widespread violence and state-sponsored killings. Despite brutal oppression, active collusion between the ruling TMC, SEC, police, and civil administration, the BJP has surpassed its 2018 tally and is way ahead of Congress, Left, ISF and others put together”.

“BJP is the principal opposition party and will unseat Mamata Banerjee, soon,” he added.

The ruling TMC won 6,430 panchayat samiti seats out of a total of 9,728 while leading 193 seats. BJP has won 982 and is leading in 53 seats, while CPI(M) has won 176 seats and is leading in 14 others. The Congress has bagged 266 seats and is leading in 6 seats.

The TMC has also won 674 zila parishad seats so far and is leading in 149 others. The BJP has in contrast won 21 and is leading in 5 seats. The CPI(M) has won 2 seats, while the Congress has won 6 and is leading in 5. In all, there are 928 zila parishad seats.

Malviya claimed the TMC has won "far fewer seats" uncontested this time, despite attempts to stop BJP candidates from filing nominations.

The TMC "captured booths, rigged voting, changed ballot boxes and influenced counting," and yet Mamata Banerjee-led party “couldn’t stop the BJP’s rise”, he said.

The BJP candidates won gram panchayat seats in booths with 100 percent Muslim population, Malviya claimed.

“The signs are ominous for Mamata Banerjee’s TMC. It is a syndicate of criminals and not a political party,” he alleged.

“TMC will be buried deep under in the coming elections and the credit for it will go entirely to the people of Bengal and BJP karyakartas (workers)," he said.

Malviya said the BJP’s performance is far better than what has been declared so far. “In several places, the result has been altered on the instruction of the ruling TMC, vote in favor of the BJP declared invalid to let the TMC candidate win, winning certificates of BJP candidates torn," he alleged.

"In several counting booths, TMC MLAs along with local administration forced results in their favour,” he alleged, adding, “All this is being challenged in court”.

The BJP’s performance in the panchayat polls is seen as a boost for the party in West Bengal. In the 2018 state panchayat polls, the BJP had emerged as the closest rival of the TMC, winning 5779 gram panchayat seats, 769 panchayat samiti seats and 22 zila parishad seats.

The BJP kept up its momentum and won 18 out of 42 seats from West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. TMC’s tally came down to 22 from 34 in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In the 2021 assembly polls, the BJP put up a tough fight against the TMC but lost and emerged as the principal opposition.

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