Birbhum: TMC wins 51 Zilla Parishad seats out of 52

Kolkata: Birbhum, which had grabbed the news headlines all for the wrong reasons in the recent past, especially after the arrest of Trinamool Congress heavyweight leader Anubrata Mondal was held by the CBI, has given a major boost to the ruling party in the state as it managed to secure 51 Zilla Parishad seats out of total 52 in the district.

For the first time in the recent past, the election was held in the district without the physical presence of Mondal but the entire election procedure was carried out under his shadow as the Opposition parties continuously attacked Mondal.

BJP tried to make inroads, especially after the arrest of Mondal but it turned out to be a futile exercise as has been reflected in the Panchayat election result. Congress has bagged one Zilla Parishad seat.

Trinamool Congress won 419 Panchayat Samiti seats out of 488/490 while out of total 2793/2859 Gram Panchayat seats, the ruling party managed to secure 2121 seats. Trinamool Congress had always kept its faith in Mondal as he had always been a “good organiser”.

Sources said that Mondal himself had expressed excitement after he came to know about the election result through his lawyer. Mondal has been serving judicial custody in Tihar jail.

Incidentally, the TMC won most seats uncontested in the past. This year also it is among the districts that saw the highest number of uncontested seats.

Mondal was arrested by CBI on cattle smuggling charges in August 2022.