Rivalry between the Mamata All India Trinamool Congress (MAITC), the Democratic Trinamool Congress (DTC) and the faction of Trinamool MPs who have joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) intensified on Friday as parties in West Bengal geared up for the municipal elections scheduled for Kolkata and Howrah in November.
In August this year, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed two bills to increase the number of civic wards from 144 to 209 in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area and from 50 to 68 under the Howrah Municipal Corporation’s (HMC) jurisdiction. Because of complications arising from delimitation rules, no election has been held in the Howrah Municipal Corporation since 2018. “Local leaders loyal to Mamata Banerjee will receive priority during candidate selection. Kunal Ghosh, a Kolkata MLA from the Mamata faction, targeted the NCPI, a self-declared ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government. “We are the real Trinamool. “Our candidates will be selected based on their proven performance. The civic bodies in both Kolkata and Howrah are being run by state-appointed administrators. The Trinamool councillors and the mayor resigned in Kolkata in May following the party’s defeat to the BJP in the Assembly polls.
There may be some talks on seat adjustment with the Congress if the situation demands but it is too early to speak on that,” a leader from the Mamata camp said, requesting anonymity after a meeting at the former chief minister’s residence in Kalighat. We will contest on our own,” DTC president Arup Roy said after a party meeting. People from other parties will not be entertained,” said Union minister of state Sukanta Majumdar, who is heading the BJP’s election committee for the Kolkata polls. The NCPI had earlier expressed eagerness to contest the civic body polls as a BJP ally, but Majumdar said his party would contest all the seats. Presenting the bills in the Assembly, state urban development and municipal affairs minister Agnimitra Paul said delimitation would create smaller wards with lower populations, making the delivery of civic services to citizens faster and easier.
On Friday, Majumdar also ruled out fielding Trinamool councillors who won the last election if they switched camps now.
