East Medinipur, 25 May (H.S.): The West Bengal government has dissolved the Trinamool Congress-run board of the Contai Municipality, long considered a stronghold of the Adhikari family, amid ongoing internal conflicts and administrative deadlock. Sub-Divisional Officer Pratik Ashok Dhumal formally took charge as the new administrator of the civic body on Monday morning.
The development marks the end of prolonged political turmoil within the municipality, which had been plagued by factionalism and governance-related controversies.
In the 2022 municipal elections, the Trinamool Congress had secured 17 of the 21 seats to form the board. Veteran councillor Subal Manna was appointed chairman and initially carried out his responsibilities without controversy. However, political tensions escalated after he publicly greeted senior BJP MP Sisir Adhikari at a private school function, triggering resentment within the ruling party.
The situation eventually led to a no-confidence motion against Subal Manna by his own party colleagues. After losing the confidence vote, he stepped down, and Suprakash Giri, son of senior TMC leader Akhil Giri, was appointed chairman.
Since then, allegations of administrative irregularities and poor governance continued to surface. The Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department had earlier issued show-cause notices to the board, both during the previous regime and again under the current state administration. Finally, the government decided to dissolve the board last Friday.
Before the new administrator arrived at the municipal office on Monday, the nameplate bearing former chairman Suprakash Giri’s name was removed from the premises.
South Contai BJP MLA Arup Kumar Das and three former BJP councillors welcomed the new administrator upon his arrival. Municipal employees also greeted him formally.
Former BJP councillor Sushil Das said, “What we had said earlier still stands. Contai Municipality will now become corruption-free. No Trinamool councillor will be seen running the municipality anymore.”
BJP MLA Arup Kumar Das alleged that civic services had virtually collapsed in recent months. “After the election results, the chairman had stopped coming to the municipality regularly. Councillors were resigning one after another and civic administration had become completely dysfunctional,” he claimed.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey
