West Bengal Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee

The West Bengal Pradesh Mahila Congress (W.B.P.M.C or WPMC) is the unit of the All India Mahila Congress for the state of West Bengal. The head office of the organization is Bidhan Bhavan, situated in Kolkata at Dr. Lalmohon Bhattacharya Road. The current President of the West Bengal Pradesh Mahila Congress is Subrata Datta.

Performance of INC in elections in West Bengal[edit]

Loksabha election 2009[edit]

The Congress high command had worked out an alliance with the Trinamool Congress for the 2009 Loksabha polls as a result of which the state leadership of the Congress had to accept the seat-sharing deal with the AITC on Mamata Banerjee's terms. The AITC offered 14 of the 42 seats in West Bengal for the Congress to contest, and that included several Left Front bastions for decades like Arambagh, Jhargram, Bankura and Bolpur. But the leaders eventually had to accept the "humiliating"^{[citation needed]} offer for the sake of the alliance. The Congress fought 'bravely'^{[citation needed]} in the Loksabha election and retained all its fortresses such as Jangipur, Baharampur, Murshidabad, Malda North, Malda South and Raiganj, but it could not open its account in the rest of South Bengal where its contested only "unwinnable" seats which the Left Front retained. Before the election, the Congress had 6 MPs from West Bengal – and it remained with six even after the election. On the other hand, the AITC, with only one MP, went up to 19, thanks to the alliance. Overall as an alliance, the AITC-INC-SUCI combined crushed the then-ruling Left Front which won 15 seats as opposed to the alliance's 26.

Municipal election 2010[edit]

Elections to 81 municipalities in West Bengal took place in the year 2010. Again the AITC offered very few seats to the Congress. But the municipal election being a localized one, the state leadership officially decided to go it alone in the election but left it to the local leadership of the party to decide whether to go for unofficial seat adjustments with the AITC at the local level. This election was seen as a "do or die" for the state Congress to prove its independent existence in the state and also the fact that it could win on its own. Results

Cooch Behar district[edit]

The Congress performed very well in the Cooch Behar municipality by winning eight seats but it could not open its account in Tufanganj, Mathabhanga and Dinhata municipalities.

Jalpaiguri district[edit]

The Congress gracefully retained the Jalpaiguri municipality by winning 16 of the 25 seats whereas its UPA ally at the Centre

Malda district[edit]

The Congress improved its performance and won the Englishbazaar municipality with support from the AITC but in Old Malda municipality it could win only in 6 seats while the Left Front won 12.

Murshidabad district[edit]

The Congress won the Beldanga, Murshidabad and Kandi municipalities and missed Dhulian by just one seat. But it could not snatch away Jangipur and Jiaganj-Azimganj municipalities from the Left Front.

Nadia district[edit]

The Congress retained Santipur and Birnagar municipalities but lost control of Ranaghat which went to the AITC. It won a few seats in Nabadwip and Kalyani municipalities but scored zero in Gayeshpur and Taherpur.

Uttar 24 Parganas district[edit]

In Baranagar, Titagarh, New Barrackpur, Kanchrapara, Garulia, Taki and Bongaon the Congress performed quite well and the AITC will require its support to form the municipal boards. In Basirhat and Baduria, the Congress emerged as the single largest party and will form the boards with support from the AITC. But the Congress could not open its account in Ashoknagar-Kalyangarh, Kamarhati, Khardaha and Bidhannagar municipalities.

Dakshin 24 Parganas district[edit]

The Congress emerged as the single largest party in Jaynagar-Majilpur municipality and formed the board with external support, but it failed to win any seat in Baruipur.

Kolkata district[edit]

The AITC had offered only 25 seats out of the 141 to the Congress which had demanded 51. Fighting alone, the Congress secured as many as 10 seats - quite good for a party like the Congress which has a weak organizational base in Kolkata. According to a senior WBPCC leader, "Had the Congress accepted the 25 seats , it would have won only 8 as 17 of the seats are Left strongholds!" 77ward president Kaniz Fatma khan.

Howrah district[edit]

In Bally municipality, the Congress failed to win in any seat.

Hooghly district[edit]

The Congress formed the municipal board in Rishra by emerging as the single largest party and the AITC required the Congress's support to control Sreerampur, Champdani and Konnagar. Though the Congress won substantial seats in Bansebria, Bhadreswar, Baidyabati and Hooghly-Chinsura it was blanked out in Chandannagar, Uttarpara-Kotrung, Tarakeswar and Arambagh.

Purba Medinipur district[edit]

The Congress fought bravely and won 2 seats in Tamluk municipality but could not win any seat in Kanthi.

Paschim Medinipur district[edit]

The Congress performed well in Ghatal, Kharagpur and Ramjibanpur where it formed the boards along with the AITC. But it could not make its presence be felt in Kharar, Khirpai and Chandrakona.

Purulia district[edit]

The Congress secured 8 seats in Purulia municipality and gained control of it along with the AITC but it could not snatch Jhalda from the Left. It also won a seat in Raghunathpur municipality and the AITC will require its support to form the board.

Bankura district[edit]

The Congress won 5 seats in Bankura municipality which the AITC will run with the Congress's support but it drew a blank in Sonamukhi and lost control of Bishnupur.

Bardhaman district[edit]

The Congress won all 19 seats and won Katwa municipality and emerged as the single largest party in Dainhat. The AITC required the support of 5 Congress councillors to form the board at Kalna. The Congress also won an impressive number of seats in Memari and opened its account in Jamuria, but it remained a negligible force in Raniganj.

Birbhum district[edit]

The Congress won an impressive 8 and 6 seats in Bolpur and Suri municipalities respectively and it secured 4 in Rampurhat. In all 3 bodies, the Congress's support would be crucial for the AITC to form the boards.

Overall, the Congress won 330 (18.4%) of the 1791 wards that went to polls in the year 2010. This was indeed an impressive result for the party, as it had fought alone - without the AITC.

Assembly election 2011[edit]

This time also, an "illogical and humiliating"^{[citation needed]} offer of 65 of the 294 assembly seats had to be accepted by the state Congress as the high command wanted the AITC-INC alliance to remain intact. The Congress performed well by winning 42 of the 65 seats with excellent results from Malda and Murshidabad districts and pockets of North and South Bengal. It joined the Mamata Banerjee-led government and had two Cabinet ministers and 5 Ministers of State representing the party before withdrawing support from the state government .

Municipal elections to six civic bodies in 2012[edit]

Municipal elections to Dhupguri, Durgapur, Haldia, Panskura, Nalhati and Coopers' Camp were held in 2012. The Congress fought independently and field candidates in 105 of the 129 wards for which elections were held. The Congress could not win any seat in Dhupguri, Haldia and Panskura municipalities. It won a seat in Durgapur Municipal Corporation. In Nalhati (from where Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit is elected to the assembly), the party managed three of the 15 seats. But the party received a shot in the arm when it registered a victory in Coopers' Camp – winning 11 of the 12 seats. The AITC won one.

List of PMCs[edit]

References[edit]

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