It is not just Trinamul Congress but even the Congress is eager to go it alone in the panchayat polls. The two allies had failed to reach an understanding for the recent civic polls and had contested separately. Buoyed by the capture of four out of six municipal boards where elections were held on June 3, Trinamul Congress national general secretary and railway minister Mukul Roy announced that his party was strong enough to not only rule West Bengal but also contest future elections on its own strength. This statement was a clear challenge to the Congress which is a coalition partner in the Mamata Banerjee-led state government.
After reviewing the civic polls results, the state Congress leadership has also arrived at the conclusion, that despite contesting alone, the Congress had not fared badly in the polls. The Congress managed to retain the Cooper’s Camp municipality. In an impressive victory, the party won 11 of the 12 wards.
“The civic polls were an acid test for us to ascertain whether there had been an erosion in our support base or whether it has remained intact. We have found that there had been a slight increase in people’s support,” state Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya said.
The Congress leaders also feel that their party fared badly in Haldia and Panskura municipalities because of Trinamul Congress’ “atrocities and intimidation.”
The state Congress president on Thursday left for Delhi carrying a detailed report on the civic polls. He will submit the report to the AICC and seek permission to contest the panchayat polls separately. It is not that the state Congress leadership’s desire to go it alone had been prompted by the civic poll results only. In an organisational meeting on April 7, majority of the party leaders from across the state had strongly advocated that the Congress should contest the panchayat polls on its own strength.
The meeting was attended by party MPs, MLAs and district and block presidents.
Heavyweights like Adhir Chowdhury, Abu Hashem Khan Chowdhury, Deepa Das Munshi and Shankar Singh openly said that they would like their party to fight the rural polls independently. Mr Chowdhury has been persistently reiterating his resolve to not have any truck with the Trinamul Congress.