@Amber I wouldn't say panchayat elections are really representative of people. For whatever reason local body elections are almost always dominated by the ruling party. Moreover I would consider panchayat elections as bits and pieces compared to legislative assembly elections of Bengal.
@anirudh , Bits and pieces not enough. What happened in U.P. panchayat election recently ? 600 seats bjp won out of 800.
That says a lot