The trend of the result of the three tier Panchayat elections announced by the State Election Commission till Tuesday evening clearly indicated that the Trinamool Congress is all set to increase its tally from the 2018 election, riding on the people’s overwhelming mandate.

The result of the Panchayat election started pouring in after late afternoon. In the 2018 Panchayat Elections, Trinamool got 38,118 seats while the BJP got 5779 seats. In the Panchayat Samiti, Trinamool had got 8062 seats while the saffron party got 769 seats.

In Zilla Parishad, Trinamool got 793 seats while the BJP got 22 seats. There are 632289 Gram Panchayat seats followed by 9730 in Panchayat Samiti and 928 Zilla Parishad seats.

Congratulating the people, Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool Congress national general secretary, tweeted: “The dejection of the combined opposition of BJP, CPIM and INC pales in comparison to the sadness that must be felt by friends from mainstream media. Even a malicious campaign with baseless propaganda to malign the AITC state government in WB couldn’t sway the voters! Grateful to the people for converting opposition’s No vote to Mamata campaign to Now vote for Mamata. With unwavering support to #Trinamoole Nabo Jowar, we will surely have a roaring mandate, paving the way for LS elections. Bengal, I thank you for all the love.”

In Gram Panchayat, Trinamool has won 18,580 seats while the BJP, the CPI-M, the Congress and others have won 4479, 1426, 1071 and 1538 respectively.Tapas Roy, deputy chief whip, said: “Throughout the year Trinamool Congress works for the development of the people. People are with Mamata Banerjee and have expressed their views without any hesitation.”

Dr Shashi Panja said: “From day one since the nomination began, the opposition started creating violence as they knew that they would be washed away. Out of sheer frustration, the opposition created trouble on the day of the election on 8 July and today.”

Political experts said the nearly two-month long mass campaign called Naba Jpoar Jatra launched by Abhishek Banerjee on April 25 from Dinhata in Cooch Behar had a great impact on the rural populace. It was for the first time when the voters got an opportunity to select their candidates through a secret ballot.

Thousands of people waited for hours to see Banerjee. Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee, who shared the dais with Abhishek in Kakdeep where the 51-day long campaign ended, had congratulated the team that had organized the programme. Mr Banerjee during the campaign had talked to the people, shook hands with them and came out of the allegation that he was beyond anybody’s reach.

The trend of the result indicated organizational weakness of the opposition. The BJP, CPI-M and Congress had failed to give any alternative scheme. The result shows that the people in the rural belt still keep faith in Mamata Banerjee.

Mohammad Salim, CPI-M state secretary and politburo member said: “The result has not reflected the real mandate of the people as the vote was rigged. There was large-scale violence on the day of the election and the Central forces were not seen anywhere.” Shamik Bhattacharya of the BJP said: “The election was a farce.”