The Didi supremacy in West Bengal
India TodayAs expected, the ruling Trinamool Congress has swept the three-tier panchayat polls in West Bengal and re-established its dominance over Opposition parties. On July 8, over 200,000 candidates competed for 73,887 seats in 3,317 gram panchayats, 341 panchayat samitis and 20 zilla parishads. Out of 63,229 gram panchayat seats, the TMC has so far won 34,901—nearly double the combined tally of around 17,000 seats won by the BJP, Left, Congress and independent candidates. Per the latest State Election Commission report, its vote share is 52 per cent, still massive even if down by four percentage points from the 2018 panchayat polls. The BJP got 22.6 per cent, up by three percentage points and the Left and Congress held on to their 18 per cent share.