The Trinamul Congress leadership today announced that all the party’s councillors in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation would be made ward presidents.

It is learnt that the party’s state president Subrata Bakshi, secretary general Partha Chatterjee, vice president Subrata Mukherjee and Trinamul Youth Congress president Abhishek Banerjee held a meeting with poll strategist Prashant Kishore and took this decision.

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The Kolkata Municipal Corporation board’s term had come to an end in May and an administrator was appointed.

The KMC election could not be held due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was learnt that in the aftermath of cyclone Amphan and early lockdown days of Pandemic, many councillors don’t work properly in their wards looking after the citizens, which raised anger against them.

People were aggrieved as they did not get the benefits as promised by the state government due to inefficiency of these councillors.

It is learnt that there were complaints within the party against some councillors for not discharging their responsibilities in the immediate aftermath of cyclone Amphan and first phase of the lock down.

With the general Assembly election in 2021,senior party leaders found it difficult to control the infighting in some wards in absence of councillors. If such a chaotic situation persists, it would be difficult for the party’s MLAs to successfully contest the 2021 Assembly poll, a party insider said .

Kishor was reorganising the party’s state committees and launched three different platforms to help Trinamul Congress in 2021 poll.

Accordingly, in consultation with Kishor, the Trinamul councillors would be made ward presidents and would be asked to look after their respective wards. There are 144 wards of which 125 wards have Trinamul Councillors.

All these councillors would be made ward presidents and party has informed them verbally. Within two or three days they will get letters also from the party.

It was also decided in the meeting that the wards where Trinamul does not have any councillor, the sitting ward president would be the ward president.

In ward 131, which belongs to Sovan Chatterjee,who left Trinamul and joined the BJP, Khokon Gain would be the ward president.