TMC on verge of securing Manickchowk as no confidence motion is passed against ruling LF

Trinamool Congress is on the way to take over Manickchowk gram panchayat in Malda after 4 CPI(M) members along with their counterparts in Trinamool moved a no confidence motion against the ruling Left Front board.

The four CPI(M) and Trinamool members have submitted the no confidence motion to the Sub Divisional Officer (SDO). The four members are going to join Trinamool soon.

It may be recalled that Trinamool Congress took over the Zilla Parishad in Malda last week.

There are 15 Left Front, 13 Trinamool Congress and 4 Congress members in the GP. The LF is running the board with the help of 4 Congress members.

Malda district CPI(M) leadership, however, denied that four of their members would join Trinamool Congress soon. “It is canards spread against the party to expose its weaknesses in the district,” the leaders said.

Though Trinamool Congress bagged 211 seats in the Assembly election, it failed to open its account in Malda after two of its ministers Sabitri Mitra and Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury lost the poll.

But within two months after the new government was sworn in the political scenario in Malda began to change. The Zilla Parishad came under Trinamool Congress. Sabitri Mitra said the Gram Panchayats and Panchayat Samitys are in favour of development and so the members had decided to join Trinamool.

Political experts said for the first time since Independence, the Assembly poll in 2016 was held on the basis of development. The people of the state supported the development that had taken place. The CPI(M) and Congress alliance failed to judge the sentiments of people. Road connectivity in the rural areas, power and various schemes to uplift the poor people had changed the rural political scenario and there is a feeling among the leaders that to retain their control over areas they should carry out development. “It is because of the development programmes, the civic bodies and the panchayats are coming under Trinamool’s control,” political experts said.

It may be recalled that the in Sabang in West Midnapore 37 out of 39 GPs have come under Trinamool Congress after their members joined the party at a function on Thursday.

The political experts reiterated that if the trend continued it would be difficult for both Congress and CPI(M) to field candidates in GP and Panchayat Samitis in the 2018 Panchayat election and Trinamool would get many seats uncontested.