Mamata Banerjee Wins Bengal Civic Polls By Big Margin

Mamata Banerjee Wins Bengal Civic Polls By Big MarginSenior Congress leader and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee felicitated Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee for her giant victory in the West Bengal civic polls.

Mukherjee, who is also the chief of the Congress in the state, accepted his party's failure in the elections held to 81 municipal bodies, comprising the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), ahead of 2011's crucial assembly polls.

"I would like to congratulate Mamata Banerjee for her excellent performance," Mukherjee said, accepting that the Congress has done "badly" in the elections.

"I accept the verdict of the people," Mukherjee said.

Mamata's Trinamool Congress has swept the KMC elections with a hefty margin. The initial results of other municipal corporations across the state also indicate a victory for the party.

Mamata's party won 95 of the 141 seats. That's a gain of 53 seats for the TMC in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

The TMC is also surging ahead of the CPM outside Kolkata.

The elections were held a year after the Lok Sabha polls that saw the Trinamool Congress-Congress combine along with the Socialist Unity Centre of India decimate the ruling Left Front. (With Inputs from Agencies)