The heads of two Trinamool Congress-run panchayats under the Dinhata-I block of Cooch Behar resigned from their posts on Wednesday.

The resignations came from Chumki Mahanta, the pradhan of Bhetaguri-I panchayat, and Priyanka Sarkar Dey, the head of Bhetaguri-II panchayat.

Both submitted their resignation letters at the BDO office, citing “personal reasons” for stepping down.

Locals said that during the 2023 panchayat elections, the BJP had secured a majority in both these panchayats. Mahanta and Sarkar Dey, who had won on BJP tickets, became pradhans.

However, in due course, the duo, along with some other BJP members, left the party and joined Trinamool, bringing both panchayats under the latter's control.

At that time, it had been alleged that Trinamool leaders had forced them to make the switch, especially after the BJP's Nisith Pramanik lost to the Trinamool candidate, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Earlier this month, as results of the Assembly elections were announced and the first BJP government was formed in the state, Mahanta and Sarkar Dey had largely remained absent from their offices.

On Tuesday, they directly approached the BDO office and formally submitted their resignations.

Sarkar Dey told mediapersons: “We had to join Trinamool under pressure amid the political circumstances of that time. After the political change in the state, I decided to resign from the post.”

Bishakh Bhattacharya, the BDO of Dinhata-I block, declined to comment on the issue. BDO office sources, however, confirmed that resignations were received from the duo.