WB Panchayat polls: Big relief for TMC as SC rules out re-election

The Trinamool Congress on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on panchayat polls in West Bengal as a "victory of democracy" and asked opposition parties to apologise to the people of the state.

The Supreme Court has turned down the pleas of CPI(M) and BJP seeking cancellation of elections on over 20,000 uncontested local body seats in West Bengal.

All these uncontested seats were won unopposed by candidates of the ruling Trinamool Congress.

"We are very happy. We welcome the verdict of the court. It is a victory of democracy. We have been saying this for a long time," TMC Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee said.

"This is a historic verdict. This is a big lesson for opposition parties. It has been proved that their allegations are baseless. They should apologise to the people of the state," Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee said.