West Bengal polls: Mamata Banerjee's TMC wins village-level 'panchayat' election

The vote was crucial for the TMC and Ms Banerjee before national polls in early 2024.

Trinamool Congress supporters celebrate the party's victory in West Bengal's Panchayat elections on Tuesday. AFP

The Trinamool Congress has swept the village-level elections in India’s eastern state of West Bengal after days of deadly political violence.

Elections were held for more than 73,887 seats, with nearly 57 million voters deciding the electoral fate of more than 200,000 candidates on Saturday.

But re-running polls were held on Monday at nearly 700 booths after ballot boxes were tampered with and widespread violence in which at least 20 people were killed at the weekend.

The ruling party led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has won more than 34,000 seats while Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party was a distant second, winning 9,545 seats.

"It's TMC all the way in rural Bengal. I want to thank the people for their love, affection and support towards the TMC. This election has proved that only TMC resides in the heart of the people of the state," Ms Banerjee said in a Facebook post.

The counting of votes for the panchayat elections began on Tuesday.

The election was crucial for the TMC and Ms Banerjee before national polls in early 2024.

She has ruled the state since 2011, when her party defeated the Communist-led administration that had ruled the state for the previous three decades, but Mr Modi has been pushing to expand his party's political role in the eastern state.

The party workers celebrated the win by dancing and eating sweets outside the party office.