Malda: Ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has intensified efforts to strengthen its organisation in the Malatipur Assembly constituency. In a fresh political development, the party has triggered a split in the Indian National Congress-run Jalalpur Gram Panchayat by inducting four Congress members and upapradhan into its fold.
The leaders — Rabina Bibi, Anija Khatun, Masrekul Alam, Meher Ali and upapradhan Kohinur Bibi — joined the Trinamool at a programme on Friday night. They were welcomed into the party by Malatipur MLA and TMC district president Abdur Rahim Boxi.
According to local sources, in the last panchayat elections, the 28-seat Jalalpur Panchayat was won by Congress with 16 seats, while Trinamool had secured 12. With the latest defections, the political equation in the panchayat has shifted significantly.
Boxi said: “People in the area no longer want Congress. With the state government’s welfare schemes reaching every household, opposition parties will eventually disappear. At the right time, our party will elect the pradhan in the panchayat.”
Explaining her decision, Kohinur Bibi said: “It had become difficult to work within Congress. That is why we decided to join Trinamool.”