Malda, June 16: The Trinamul Congress has decided to project party veteran Sandhya Das as chairman of the Englishbazar municipality.
Closeted in their office for over three hours, the party's district leadership arrived at the decision, bypassing names like Kakoli Chowdhury which were doing the rounds. The move is being seen as step to prevent dissidence within the party. The party also decided to ask for support from the BJP and the Congress in order to form an anti-Left board in the municipality.
Declaring Das?s name, former chairman Krishnendu Chowdhury claimed that the meeting went off well and all members present supported the nomination of Das as the next chairman. Das is a three-time councillor from ward 1.
?We have begun talking to the Congress and the BJP leadership in order to form the board, and I have been chosen as a coordinator to oversee the functioning of the municipality on behalf of the party,? he said.
Dispelling speculation that he would quit the party, Chowdhury said that he was not joining the Congress. But he stressed on the fact that good relations with the Congress should be maintained to keep the CPM at bay.
The Englishbazar municipality has returned a hung verdict with the Trinamul Congress winning in eight wards, the Congress in five, the BJP in one and the Left Front bagging 11 seats.
The board is scheduled to formed on Saturday and the Congress had a meeting at the Kotwali residence of A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury, where district Congress president, Ruby Noor, presided over the deliberations. Rebel Congress councillor Biswnath Guha, who has been an aspirant for the chairman's position, was conspicuous by his absence. ?I have no intention of giving up my claim for the chairman?s post,? Guha said cryptically.
On the other hand, the CPM district secretary, Jiban Moitra, said the district Left Front will meet tomorrow to devise its strategy for election of the chairman.
In the meantime, the Left Front, which has taken control of the Old Malda municipality by winning 13 of the 17 wards, has announced that the chairman will be from the CPM and his deputy from the RSP.