Rumpa Ghorai, BJP candidate who won in the Pujali municipality, on Friday joined the Trinamool Congress within 48 hours after the results of the municipal polls were announced on Wednesday.
Ghorai was elected from ward number 9. Thus, in the 16-member municipality, Trinamool has 15 seats and BJP has only one seat. Initially, the Trinamool had bagged 12 seats, followed by BJP which got two seats and an independent candidate and Congress getting one seat each.
Shortly after the election results were announced on Wednesday, Congress candidate Nirufa Nazir and Rinku Routh who was elected as an independent candidate joined Trinamool Congress. With the joining of Ghorai, BJP will become the Opposition with one Councillor.
Thus, out of 64 seats in three Municipalities in the plains, namely, Raigunj, Domkal and Pujali, where polls were held, the Opposition Congress and BJP have only one Councillor each. Congress has a Councillor in Raigunj and BJP has the other one in Pujali. In Domkal, all the 21 seats have been won by the Trinamool Congress candidates.
After joining Trinamool Congress, Ghorai said she had joined the party because of the developmental works carried out by the district administration. Trinamool Congress has chalked out an elaborate plan to develop the areas under Pujali Municipality. There is enough scope of eco-tourism and stress has been given to develop the roads. BJP had carried out intense campaigns in Pujali and there was an unofficial alliance between BJP, Congress and CPI(M). But the people of the area supported development and rejected divisive politics of the Opposition.
"People have supported the developmental work carried out by Mamata Banerjee's government. People believe that only Trinamool Congress can bring about total development of the area." Local BJP leaders alleged that to save herself from the reign of terror unleashed by Trinamol Congress, Ghorai had joined the party. Pujali was a Congress stronghold but in 2012, the local Congress leaders en bloc joined the Trinamool Congress under the guidance of Mukul Roy.