Malda: Cong suffers major setback in Mothabari ahead of Assembly polls

Malda: Ahead of the upcoming state Assembly elections, the Congress suffered a significant political setback in Malda district as four of its members of a gram panchayat in the Mothabari Assembly constituency defected to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Saturday night.

During an event at the Trinamool Congress office in Kaliachak-II block, the four gram panchayat members formally joined the TMC in the presence of minister of state for Irrigation and local MLA Sabina Yeasmin. The defectors are Maida Bibi, Taslima Khatun, Tahera Khatun and Saheb Ali, all elected members of the Uttar Panchanandapur-I Gram Panchayat.

Uttar Panchanandapur-I Gram Panchayat has a total of 14 seats. In the last panchayat elections, the Congress had secured a clear majority by winning 10 seats, while the TMC had won only four. With this majority, the Congress formed the board and controlled the panchayat for the past two and a half years. However, with the defection of four members, the political balance in the panchayat has now changed, giving a major boost to the TMC ahead of the Assembly polls.

Addressing the gathering, Yeasmin said: “This was a mission for me. Out of the 11 gram panchayat areas in my Assembly constituency, Trinamool Congress is in power in 10. Only one panchayat was under Congress control. Today that barrier has been broken. In this area, political change is now only a matter of time.”

Taslima Khatun said: “We joined Trinamool Congress because of its development-oriented politics and the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. We believe this party can truly work for the people at the grassroots level.”

Another member, Tahera Khatun, said: “The Trinamool Congress is closer to the people. That is why we decided to leave Congress and join TMC.”

The defection is being seen as a major blow to the Congress organisation in the region and a clear signal of the TMC’s growing influence in Malda ahead of the crucial elections.

Meanwhile, more than a thousand people belonging to around 200 families from the BJP, Congress and CPI(M) joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) at Christianpara under the Islampur Police Station area in North Dinajpur district on Saturday evening.

The programme was led by Javed Akhtar, Chairman of the Minority Cell of North Dinajpur district TMC, who handed over party flags to the new members.

Addressing the gathering, Akhtar said that minority Muslim families and a section of Christians were inspired by the developmental works of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He added that the party’s organisational strength in Christianpara has increased significantly after the

mass joining.