KOLKATA: The Left Front, after five years, regained control of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) with an absolute majority. It also humbled the Trinamool Congress in the Bidhannagar Municipality, a satellite township adjoining Kolkata. The Uttarpara-Kotrang Municipality in Hooghly district went to the Trinamool Congress.

The results of the civic elections were announced on Tuesday.

The stage is now set for Bikash Bhattacharya of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), a lawyer by profession, to be the new Mayor of Kolkata. He will be taking over from Subrata Mukherjee, who, two months ago, left the Trinamool Congress to contest the polls by forging an alliance with the Congress, which came a cropper in the electoral race.

The Left Front has improved its position since the last elections to the KMC in 2000, increasing its tally in the 141-ward civic body to 75. The CPI(M) alone bagged 60 seats.

The Trinamool-Bharatiya Janata Party combine that was in control of the outgoing board won in 45 wards, while 19 went to the Congress-led United Democratic Alliance. In Bidhannagar, the Left Front won in 18 of the 23 wards.

The remaining wards went to the Trinamool, whose tally dropped by six from the 11 it had won in the previous election.

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