9-month-old party sweeps hill polls in Bengal

The nine-month-old Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) on Wednesday emerged as the largest single party in elections to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), winning 27 out of 45 seats while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) won five of the 10 seats it contested, in Darjeeling

The nine-month-old Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) on Wednesday emerged as the largest single party in elections to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), winning 27 out of 45 seats while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) won five of the 10 seats it contested, in Darjeeling. Another newly floated outfit, Hamro Party bagged eight seats and five independent candidates emerged victorious in the GTA polls.

Another newly floated outfit, Hamro Party bagged eight seats and five independent candidates emerged victorious in the GTA polls. (Representational photo)

Mamata Banerjee led TMC swept 19 of the 22 gram panchayats under the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad in north Bengal and four of the six municipal wards in the districts of North 24 Parganas, Hooghly and Purulia.

All these polls and by-polls were held on Sunday.

Results from across the state showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ended third in many seats while the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), retained several rural seats in the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad and wrested ward no 17 at Chandannagar Municipality in Hooghly district after 32 years. In Darjeeling, BGPM president Anit Thapa is all set to head the GTA.