Dissidents could turn thorns for Trinamol Congress in Siliguri civic polls

Election for Siliguri Municipal Corporation going to be tough for the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal due to the presence of the opposition BJP and the Left front.Five independent candidates had filed nominations defying party diktat in the elections slated for January 22.

Siliguri(West Bengal): The election for Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) was always going to be tough for the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. SMC was one of the few civic bodies in the state, which was won by the Left Front amid the Trinamool juggernaut. Adding more woes to the ruling dispensation, several former Trinamool Congress councillors who were denied tickets this time, are contesting as independent candidates. Their presence in a closely contested poll could always mar the chances of the green brigade.

Five independent candidates had filed nominations defying party diktat in the SMC elections slated for January 22. Though the Trinamool Congress has persuaded Nikhil Sahani of Ward number 18 to withdraw his nomination, the rest are there as thorns.

The list starts with Ward number 1, where Massom Kapoor has filed nomination as an independent candidate, Bikash Sarkar, Trinamool Congress general secretary of the party's youth wing, has filed his nomination from Ward number 24, from Ward number 39, leader of the Trinamool Congress women's wing Rina Das has filed her nomination and another party leader Mallika Debnath has filed her nomination from Ward number 46.

Most of the dissidents have expressed displeasure with the party leadership in Siliguri and have alleged nepotism and even accepted money in exchange for tickets. A few have said they are contesting the election as independent candidates as they were urged by local residents. The contest for Ward number 24 has gotten tight with the Trinamool Congress nominating Pratul Chakraborty in place of Bikash Sarkar.

Sarkar, a popular face in the ward and locality, has alleged that party higher-ups had not consulted grassroots leaders and workers before finalising the candidate list. Trinamool has already expelled Sarkar and also the party's ward committee president Sudip Kundu for providing support to Sarkar. Incidentally, this is the same Ward where local BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh is also contesting on a BJP ticket.

Leaders like Mallika Debnath, Masoom Kapoor, Rina Das, Hiren Roy, Bapi Ghosh and Tapan Saha have also figured in the expulsion list. Both district Trinamool Congress chairperson Papiya Ghosh and senior party leader and candidate Gautam Deb have denied the allegations of nepotism and cash for candidature. “We are not a party where seats are dealt out in exchange of money. We had spoken to those who had issues with the candidate list. Some have accepted the party's decision. For others, we will face them politically,” said Ghosh.

The Trinamool Congress has already faced a tough challenge from the opposition BJP in North Bengal. Boiling down to the local civic body polls, the CPI-M has also lost enough ground. Their Siliguri MLA Ashok Bhattacharya has lost to BJP's Shankar Ghosh, who was once a CPI-M councillor. With a closely fought contest, the dissidents could eventually be a deciding factor for the future of Trinamool Congress in the foothills of Darjeeling Himalayas.