Senior Correspondent.TOD. Kumarganj
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken control of the Samjhia Gram Panchayat in South Dinajpur district, in a political shift that has dealt another setback to the Trinamool Congress in the Kumarganj block.According to panchayat sources, the previous panchayat Prodhan, Dhano Roy, and Upo-Prodhan, Mokaram Hossain Mondal, resigned voluntarily from their posts after the BJP formed the government in the state following the Assembly election.
Tensions had been building since Monday night ahead of Tuesday’s scheduled formation of the new panchayat board. A heavy police presence was deployed in the area from early morning to prevent any escalation.The 23-member Samjhia Gram Panchayat had been dominated by the Trinamool Congress after the last panchayat election, when it won 16 seats. The BJP secured five seats, while the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), and an independent candidate won one seat each.
The Trinamool Congress has now failed to retain control of the panchayat despite its clear majority in the previous election, marking a political setback for Kumarganj MLA Toraf Hossain Mondal.The new board was formed in the presence of Kumarganj Block Development Officer (BDO) Subhankar Saha and Deputy Secretary Debjit Sarkar. Panchayat Secretary Supratim Chakraborty was also present during the proceedings.
Of the 23 elected panchayat members, nine attended the board-formation meeting. They included five BJP members, two from the Trinamool Congress, one CPI(M) member and one independent.The members present unanimously elected Gautam Mondal, from the Daudpur booth, as the new panchayat Pradhan. Sampa Chowdhury Basak, from the Angina booth, was chosen as Upo-Prodhan.
The development comes a day after a Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee from Srirampur visited South Dinajpur and sought to energize party workers and leaders amid growing political challenges. But within a day, the party lost control of another local body in the district.The change at Samjhia adds to the political uncertainty surrounding local governance in Kumarganj, where control of grassroots institutions remains a key battleground between the BJP and Trinamool Congress.
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