The Congress has said that it will field its candidates in all the 47 wards for the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) elections, while also keeping doors open for discussions with the Left Front.
According to party leaders, young faces and members of student wings will be given priority as candidates. The Left and the Congress had forged an unofficial tie up after the last civic body polls here in 2015, which is known as the ‘Siliguri Model.’ The state election commission had yesterday told Calcutta High Court that it plans to conduct some civic elections, including the one in Siliguri, in January.
“Our candidates will contest in 47 wards in the elections. Most of the candidates will be nominated from the youth and student fronts of our party. We had no formal discussions with the Left Front, but according to the situation, we may come close to them to defeat the Trinamul Congress and the BJP, as there is nothing permanent in politics,” said the Congress state working president and Darjeeling district Congress (Plains) president, Sankar Malakar.
Mr Malakar said the Trinamul Congress had no strong organisational base in Siliguri. “Had the ruling party been strong here, there would not have been the need to poach former councillors from the Congress and the Left. People have rejected them during the last polls. Now we appeal to the people, let’s give Congress a chance,” Mr Malakar added.
The former MLA was referring to defections of some Congress leaders, including two former councilors, to the Trinamul camp a few months ago. The Congress and the TMC were jointly voted to power at the SMC in the civic body elections in September, 2009.
Congress had formed the board with “outside support”of the Left Front. Later, the Congress joined hands with the TMC in June 2011. However, the goings between the Congress and the TMC were never smooth, with the latter accusing former Congress mayor Gangotri Datta of failing to perform. TMC pulled out of the board in March 2013, reducing the Congress board to a minority at the SMC.
Ms Datta had resigned from her post on 20 May in 2014. As the post for the mayor remained vacant, a three-member board of administrators (BoA) was appointed on 14 August the same year at the SMC. Congress leaders accused the present BoA led by its chairperson Gautam Deb of ‘non-performance’. They said people were denied basic civic services.
Mr Malakar further claimed that ‘Team PK’ was meeting party leaders, including him, to engineer defects. The Left has said it will also field candidates in all the 47 wards in the elections. “Left Front candidates will contest in all the 47 wards, but we may discuss further with democratic forces to defeat the Trinamul Congress and keep the BJP at bay,” said Darjeeling district CPI-M secretary Saman Pathak.
According to Mr Pathak, there will be a “balancing approach” on the selection of candidates. He said as they will bring in young candidates, there will also be experienced leaders. The Left Front had defeated the TMC during the last civic body polls, but it faced a significant erosion, especially after the disastrous results in the Assembly elections.
Trinamul Congress, however, does not want to give importance to this issue. “Congress has become a sign board in West Bengal, the CPI-M has almost gone into oblivion, and the BJP is on the verge of losing its existence. We do not want to say who is contacting the Trinamul Congress in the dark of night, not in daylight. Trinamul Congress is fighting against the nexus of those three parties and we are wondering whether they will strike an unethical alliance compromising their so-called principles, ideologies. If you can muster courage then fight alone against the Trinamul Congress. We will fight it alone against the axis and emerge victorious,” said district party spokesperson, Bedabrata Dutta.