None can conduct such peaceful elections: Mamata on Kolkata civic polls

None in the country can conduct an election as peaceful, Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday, referring to the recently concluded Kolkata local body elections while opposition parties maintained that the polls were rigged, marred by violence, and that police and state election commission allegedly didn’t play a proactive role.

Addressing Trinamool’s victorious candidates in Kolkata, Banerjee told the cadres the huge victory the party has witnessed is because people, irrespective of their demographic differences, trust the party that is connected to the ground.

“We extend our thanks to those who worked in the elections. State election commission, and the Kolkata Police, have worked very well. I thank them. Nobody in India would be able to show such a peaceful election,” she said.

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Banerjee further alleged that when the assembly elections were held in the presence of central forces, 16 TMC supporters died in the pre-poll violence. Trinamool, while not being responsible, was blamed for the same.

The more we win, the more humble we will have to be, there’s no place for arrogance in the party, Banerjee told party workers.

Amid the clamour that the three independent candidates may join the winning party after the elections, Banerjee said that she doesn’t want the independent candidates to enter the party.

“If someone thinks that one can sabotage the party and by making someone win it’s possible to enter the party, one will have to wait. The game is not that easy,” she added. Instead, she asked her party leaders to ensure that the 10 defeated Trinamool candidates are engaged in some municipal work.

She also asked the newly-elected councillors of her party to immediately start work in their localities. Banerjee asked the representatives of the minority community to explore possibilities of development, especially in the slums.

She warned that every six months work will be reviewed, and the party could act against non-performers. Talk less, work more, she added. “There are no personal lobbies. There’s only one lobby, joda phool (party’s symbol),” she said.

The party also declared Firhad Hakim as its leader in the corporation, pitching him as Mayor for a second time.

Mamata added that the Durga Puja celebrations will commence ten days in advance the next year, as UNESCO accorded the festival the status of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

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