Trinamool Congress is currently leading in the West Bengal Panchayat elections, according to the early trends. The Mamata Banerjee-led party is ahead in the initial trends of Gram Panchayat, West Bengal Panchayat Samiti, and Zilla Parishad. The counting of votes begun for the Bengal Panchayat elections at counting centres at 8 AM amid heavy security.


Gram Panchayat (3317)


TMC - 281
BJP -
LF -
INC - 
ISF -
OTH - 2 


West Bengal Panchayat Samiti (341)


TMC - 28
BJP -
LF -
INC - 
ISF -
OTH - 


Zilla Parishad (20)


TMC - 
BJP -
LF -
INC - 
ISF -
OTH -


Polling was conducted on Saturday, July 8, across over 61,000 booths in West Bengal for the three-tier panchayat elections. The rural areas of the state witnessed a total of 5.67 crore eligible voters who had the task of determining the fate of 2.06 lakh candidates vying for 73,887 seats in the panchayat system.


Following allegations of ballot box tampering and widespread violence that claimed the lives of at least 15 people, the State Election Commission ordered repolling on Sunday evening. Fresh voting took place on Monday, July 9, at 696 booths in 19 districts of West Bengal where the earlier panchayat election polling was declared invalid.


Among the districts that witnessed repolling, violence-affected Murshidabad had the highest number of booths at 175, followed by Malda with 109, according to officials. Repolling also took place at 89 booths in Nadia, 53 booths in Cooch Behar, 46 booths in North 24 Parganas, 42 booths in Uttar Dinajpur, 36 booths in South 24 Parganas, 31 booths in Purba Medinipur, 29 booths in Hooghly.


The panchayat election in West Bengal encompasses 63,229 gram panchayat seats, 9,730 panchayat samiti seats, and 928 zilla parishad seats spread across 22 districts. However, Darjeeling and Kalimpong follow a two-tier system with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and Siliguri Sub-divisional Council occupying the top position.


The election holds great significance for political parties as it allows them to assess their organizational strengths and weaknesses ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Moreover, it provides a glimpse into the overall mood of the state following two consecutive terms of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government.


In the contest, the TMC has fielded candidates for all the 928 zilla parishad seats, 9,419 panchayat samiti seats, and 61,591 gram panchayat seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has put forth candidates for 897 zilla parishad seats, 7,032 panchayat samiti seats, and 38,475 gram panchayat seats.


The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) is contesting 747 zilla parishad seats, 6,752 panchayat samiti seats, and 35,411 gram panchayat seats, while the Congress is vying for 644 zilla parishad seats, 2,197 panchayat samiti seats, and 11,774 gram panchayat seats.