The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday wrested control of the Habibpur panchayat samiti in West Bengal’s Malda district after bringing a no-confidence motion against the Congress-controlled board.
Last week, the ruling party used a similar tactic to win control of two panchayat samitis in North 24 Parganas.
The latest setback for the Opposition comes amid a tussle between the State Committee and the Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) over alliance with the Congress.
Of the 31 seats in Habibpur, the Congress, the CPI(M) and the Trinamool had eight seats each while the BJP had seven.
The CPI(M) and the BJP voted in favour of the no-confidence motion, thereby ensuring the ruling party’s victory.
However, both the CPI(M) and the Congress alleged that the Trinamool won not by using “democratic means but by force.”
‘Money power at work’
“The Trinamool intimidated and bribed CPI(M) members to vote for the ruling party and thus established a majority in Habibpur samiti,” said CPI(M) district secretary Ambar Mitra. He, however, refused to say if the party’s members who voted for the ruling party would be expelled.
Congress district president and MP Mausam Noor also accused the Trinamool of using “money and muscle power.”
Baseless, says Trinamool
Trinamool’s Habibpur block president Ujjal Mishra rubbished the Opposition claims, saying that the CPI(M) members who voted for his party were “disgusted” with their party’s district leadership for constantly “sidelining” them.
“CPI(M) and Congress leaders are making baseless allegations to hide their own misdeeds,” he said. Sources in the ruling party said the disgruntled CPI(M) members would join the Trinamool soon.
