TMC gets back control of Naihati Municipality from BJP

The Trinamool Congress on Saturday took over control of the Naihati Municipality from the BJP, after the majority of councillors who had switched over to the saffron after the Lok Sabha polls returned to the ruling party. With this, the TMC has regained control of all the six local bodies which had been taken over by the BJP after the general elections and the saffron party now has only Bhatpara municipality in its kitty, senior TMC leader and minister Firhad Hakim said.

The BJP claimed that the TMC used political and administrative pressure to the councillors forcing them to return to the TMC. Out of the 31 councillors of the Naihati Municipality in North 24 Parganas district, 18 including the vice chairman, had switched sides, giving the effective control to the BJP.

Out of the 18 councillors, 10 rejoined the TMC and alleged that they were forced to join the saffron camp at gunpoint, a charge denied by the BJP. Following the return of the 10 councillors, the strength of the TMC in the municipal body now stands at 23.

"After the Lok Sabha polls, BJP forced our leaders to join it either at gunpoint or by bribing them. But our councillors couldn't continue there. They either have returned to our party or are trying to come back," senior TMC leader and Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim said. "With the joining of 10 councillors, we have the majority in the Naihati Municipality from today," Hakim told a press conference here.

Reacting to the development, senior BJP leader Mukul Roy, who had played a key role in these defections, said the TMC used both political and administrative power to force the councillors to rejoin the party. "They had joined the BJP as they were fed up with the functioning of the TMC. Since then, they were threatened by the police and goons. The TMC forced them to rejoin. It had done the same in other municipal bodies," Roy said.

According to state BJP sources, the party is miffed with the developments and feels that taking leaders of the TMC and other parties without background check had led to such an embarrassing situation..