Trinamool, CPM clash in civic polls

Kolkata:

Some bomb throwing between rival parties, some skirmishes, some injuries and one round of police firing. Given the highly charged atmosphere across the state over today's civic elections, worse was expected but trouble was thankfully limited.

Assembly elections in West Bengal are due May next year but many say the semi finals were held today with polls to 81 civic bodies.

"According to me, we have played the semi final in 2009 itself. Bengal has given its verdict," said Kalyan Banerjee, Trinamool MP.

In last May's Lok Sabha polls, Trinamool, with 19 seats, had trounced the Left Front which got 15.

But the question is, is today's poll the penultimate test?

• 75 per cent of 85 lakh voters in 81 municipalities voted today
• That is less than 16 per cent of Bengal's 5.24 crore voters
• Arithmetically, today 47 of the state's 294 assembly seats went to the polls, which again is not even 20 per cent

So can this civic poll reflect the real mood in the state? 

"This is not a sports event. You can't term an election as semi final or final. That means last Lok Sabha polls was a quarter final and the panchayat polls a pre-quarter final," said Md Salim, CPM.

Opinion on the issue is clearly divided on political lines. The Left says it's not a semi final, the Trinamool says it is. The final is due May next. A whole year is a long time in politics.

Last time, the Left won 54, Congress 16 and Trinamool 11. All eyes will be on counting day to see if those figures undergo a major reversal. The results of the May 2009 Lok Sabha polls have raised the possibility that they might.