KOLKATA: The campaign for election in 108 municipalities ended on Thursday evening. According to political experts, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was ahead of its opponents, namely the BJP and the Left Front, in organising campaigns for their candidates. There are 2272 seats spread over 108 municipalities.
The Cabinet ministers, including Firhad Hakim, Dr Shashi Panja, Malay Ghatak and Dr Manas Bhuniya visited the districts and campaigned for the party's nominees. While the ministers took part in rallies, the local leaders visited every household and urged people to vote for the candidates to support the all-round development carried out by the state government-led by Mamata Banerjee across the state.
TMC took stringent action and expelled nearly 100 leaders throughout the state, who had filed nominations as independent candidates after failing to get tickets. Partha Chatterjee, national vice-president of TMC, said: "The party had given the rebels 48 hours time and steps had been taken against them after the deadline ended. No one is above party discipline and many withdrew their nomination and came back to the party."
Infighting in BJP had surfaced during the distribution of tickets and later. In Kharagpur, on failing to get a ticket, a BJP candidate ransacked the party office and urged people not to vote for the party. Interestingly, for the first time in the past three decades, no one from the Adhikari family had been given a ticket to contest the election. Contai municipality was under the control of Sisir Adhikari, who was its chairman during the Left Front rule.
Both, the BJP and the Left Front found it difficult to field polling agents because of organisational weakness. In Bhatpara in North 24-Parganas, BJP leaders openly urged Congress and Left Front voters to vote for the party. Political experts said the municipal election had exposed the BJP and Left Front and their inability to strengthen the organisation of the party.