TMC establishes control over Jangipur as 12 Opposition Councillors join party

Three Congress Zilla Parishad members joined TMC as well. The Councillors joined the party in presence of Shoumik Hussain who added that more Congress leaders and workers would join TMC in the near future. This is the second municipality which came under TMC from Congress in the past 48 hours. 

The Kaliaganj municipality in North Dinajpur had come under Trinamool after seven Councillors from the Congress joined the party on July 21. TMC had two members before and after the seven Congress Councillors joined the party, the number swelled to nine and hence, having nine members in the 17-member board has helped TMC establish control over it.

It may be mentioned that two MLAs from Congress and CPI(M), namely, Tushar Kanti Bhattacharya from Bishnupur in South 24 Parganas who had defeated Shyamapada Mukherjee in 2016 Assembly polls and Dipali Biswas from Gajole in Malda had joined the party on July 21.

The erosion of Congress party base in Murshidabad which was under Adhir Chowdhury for nearly a decade was expected after the Trinamool Congress got 211 seats in the Assembly election defeating the alliance between Congress and Left Front that bagged only 76 seats. Trinamool bagged four seats in Murshidabad and lost four more due to infighting. Aritra Majumdar, one of the general secretaries of the party in Murshidabad and the brother-in-law of Chowdhury joined TMC on July 21.

Political analysts said both Congress and Left Front leaders are utterly confused about how to stop the erosion of party base in their stronghold. Neither Surya Kanta Mishra, state CPI(M) secretary, who is busy in settling his scores with the party’s Central Committee and Politburo over the issue of having alliance with the Congress nor Chowdhury who is busy in tackling Manas Bhunia who has become PAC chairman flouting the “discipline of the party,” has any time to organise meetings to boost up party’s rank and file.

Analysts maintained that in near future more leaders and workers from various districts who were against the alliance would join TMC. 

“As both the Congress and Left Front has failed to give any programme for the party, there will be massive erosion in party’s support base and it will be difficult for both the parties to field candidates in for the posts of gram panchayat, panchayat samity and zilla parishad in 2018 Panchayat election.