Hooghly, 29 May (H.S.):
After Bhadreshwar, political turmoil has now surfaced in the Chandannagar Municipal Corporation as five councillors of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) resigned from their posts on Friday. Former Deputy Mayor Munna Agarwal, who had earlier stepped down from his position, is also among those who submitted their resignations.
According to sources, TMC councillors held a late-night meeting on Thursday at Rabindra Bhavan in Chandannagar. Councillors who reportedly had strained relations with TMC leader Indranil Sen attended the meeting. Mayor Ram Chakraborty was also present.
Following the developments, the scheduled board meeting on Friday was cancelled. Meanwhile, reports suggest that six councillors considered close to Indranil Sen sent their resignation letters via email to the commissioner of the Chandannagar Municipal Corporation.
Chandannagar Municipal Corporation, which falls under the Chandannagar Assembly constituency, has a total of 33 wards. Of these, two are held by the CPI(M), while the remaining 31 were under the control of the Trinamool Congress. Similarly, all 22 wards of the Bhadreshwar Municipality were previously controlled by the TMC.
Political observers believe that the defeat of TMC candidate Indranil Sen in the Assembly elections has weakened the party’s organisational structure in the region. Reports indicate that several more councillors may also consider resigning from their posts.
Reacting to the development, Mayor Ram Chakraborty said, “The regular board meeting has been cancelled as per procedure. A decision regarding the resignations will be communicated later.”
TMC councillor Partha Dutta said, “A particular situation has arisen, and therefore discussions were held among all councillors.”
Meanwhile, Chandannagar BJP MLA Dipanjan Guha took a dig at the ruling party, saying, “Those who worked for the Trinamool Congress for so long are now beginning to feel that they can no longer continue with the party. Not every Ratnakar becomes Valmiki, but many at least try to become one.”
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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey
