Siliguri, Jan. 5: Siliguri mayor Asok Bhattacharya wrote to Sujoy Ghatak, a Congress councillor who recently resigned as borough chairman, seeking his support and that of other councillors of his party to "run the board in an effective and efficient manner".

The letter, however, was sent about five months after the Left lost majority at the SMC board, following the death of Arabinda Ghosh, the sole Independent councillor supporting Asok, in August last year.

"It is an interesting development. So long, the Congress has been sitting in the Opposition and supported the board on certain issues such as passing the annual budget. The Left however, had never sought support from the party, even after the death of Ghosh in August 2016 and after the sole Forward Bloc councillor Durga Singh defected to Trinamul on September," a political observer said.

Today's move by the mayor, the observers said, is because of the recent "inclination" of the Congress towards Trinamul in the state and national levels, following the arrest of Trinamul MP Sudip Bandopadhyay.

In September last year, after Ghosh's death and the defection of Durga Singh, the Left was reduced to a minority with 22 seats in the 47-ward corporation - two short of the magic figure.

The Left leaders, including the mayor, appeared unperturbed and maintained that they would prove their majority through "floor management".

"The only step the mayor had taken is that he had spoken to the state Cogress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to ensure that all four Congress councillors support them in the hour of need. He has never spoken to any of us, including Ghatak," a Congress councillor said.

However, the change in the Congress' stance following the Trinamul MP's arrest on Tuesday, and Ghatak's resignation on Monday has made the mayor approach the disgruntled Congress councillor, requesting him to "rethink his decision".

"I have sent a letter to Sujoy Ghatak, mentioning that we need their support for effective and efficient functioning of the civic board. I have also mentioned in the letter that I have not accepted his resignation and that he should rethink his decision," Asok said today.

Ghatak, who is in Calcutta and has submitted a report to the PCC president yesterday, said: "There is no question of giving any second thought to my resignation."