SILIGURI: The Hill Trinamool Congress (TMC) has urged the party high-command to do away with pre-poll alliances in the Hills in future.
With a number of elections lined up in the Hills, the TMC wants to go at it alone or if the situation demands, enter into post poll-alliance.
On the heels of the civic polls in Darjeeling in which TMC managed to bag 2 seats out of the 10 contested, the Party held an introspective meeting in Siliguri on Saturday.
Later talking to media persons, Shanta Chhetri, President, TMC Darjeeling District Committee (Hills) stated: "Our party high command had asked us to contest in 10 wards, out of which we won 2.
In one, there was a tie and our opponent won by 3 postal ballot votes.
In the remaining 7, we lost by very small margins of 30 to 40 votes."
She stated that in the 10 wards that the TMC had contested out of the 12000 plus votes cast, Hamro Party had bagged 4000 votes; TMC 3700 plus votes; BGPM 2700 plus votes and GJM 1600. The TMC had secured 38 per cent votes in these 10 wards.
Out of the 32 wards of the Darjeeling Municipality, TMC had contested in 10 and the remaining 22 wards were contested by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in a pre-poll alliance. The TMC won 2 and the GJM managed to win 3 seats.
"Very soon we will have GTA and Panchayat elections in the Hills. The TMC is ready to fight all elections. However, in a report to Subrata Bakshi, TMC State president, we have urged the High Command not to enter into any pre-poll alliance. TMC's popularity is growing in the Hills. The Municipality election results are a clear indicator that if we would have contested all 32 seats we would have won more seats. Contesting in all 32 seats would have had a positive impact on the public, hence, we would have performed better," claimed Binoy Tamang.
Out of the 32 wards of the Darjeeling Municipality, Hamro Party won 18, BGPM won 9, GJM 3 and TMC 2.
BJP and GNLF both
drew blanks.