Big Defeat for CPIM
In West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress-Congress combine swept five of the 10 West Bengal assembly seats and is ahead in three others.
The Left Front, which won three of the 10 seats in 2006, led only in Goalpokhar, where Forward Bloc’s Ali Imran Ramoz was ahead of his closest rival by about 4,000 votes.
The Trinamool bagged Bongaon, Serampore, Alipore and Rajganj while the Congress won from its traditional stronghold Sujapur in Malda district. In a startling result, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha-backed independent Wilson Champamari won from Kalichini in north Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district.
In Alipore, Trinamool’s Bobby Hakim trounced his nearest rival Kuastav Chatterjee of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) by over 27,000 votes. Trinamool was ahead in Belgachia (East), Contai South and Egra.
The Trinamool’s lead in Belgachia (East) on Kolkata’s outskirts was significant as the constituency had elected popular CPI-M leader Subhas Chakraborty seven times. Chakraborty died this year and the CPI-M nominated Chakraborty’s widow Ramala against Trinamool leader Sujit Bose.
