Following the Bengal election defeat, the TMC suffered a major setback; 30 councillors, including the mayor of Chandannagar Corporation, resigned en masse Big political upheaval in Bengal: Mass resignation of 30 TMC councilors, including the mayor of Chandannagar Municipal Corporation, after the election results.

After the big victory of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the West Bengal Assembly elections, a period of major changes has started in the political corridors of the state. The direct and major impact of this election result is now visible on the local bodies. According to a big news coming from Hooghly district, 30 councilors of Trinamool Congress (TMC) including the Mayor of Chandannagar Municipal Corporation have resigned from their posts together.

After the defeat of Trinamool Congress in the assembly elections, this mass resignation is being considered as a big blow for the party in Hooghly region. In fact, Trinamool Congress candidate Indranil Sen had to face defeat from Chandannagar Assembly seat also, after which the political situation of this Municipal Corporation was looking quite weak and shaky.

How did this whole incident happen?

There are a total of 33 wards in Chandannagar Municipal Corporation, in which Trinamool Congress had unilateral dominance. The series of resignations that started suddenly on Friday emptied the entire corporation by nightfall:

• Early morning: First of all on Friday morning, 5 TMC councilors submitted their resignations.

• Night Events: After this, expressing their displeasure and inability, 25 other councilors also submitted their resignation to Municipal Corporation Chairperson Snigdha Roy in the night.

• Rules and Procedure: All these councilors have also officially sent their resignation to the Corporation Commissioner through email. According to the rules, now the chairperson will send all these resignations to the Commissioner of the Corporation for final approval.

“When you can’t work, why sit on a chair?” — Outgoing Mayor Ram Chakraborty

After the mass resignation, outgoing Mayor of Chandannagar Ram Chakraborty put forward his views. He made it clear that this decision was not taken under any external pressure, but due to the compulsion of not being able to work in the public interest.

Mayor’s official statement:

“We have been defeated in the Assembly elections and we accept this decision of the public with full humility. Even after the election results, our intention was that we will continue to provide our services to the citizens through the Municipal Corporation. But immediately after the elections, instructions were issued by the Urban Development Department that there will be an audit of all the previous expenses of the Municipality. Along with this, our financial freedom was also completely destroyed. The situation had become such that even the money for minor expenses of tea in the office and oil for government vehicles. We couldn’t find it.”

Ram Chakraborty further said, “In such circumstances, we were not able to provide basic facilities and services to the citizens. When we cannot do any work for the public, there is no point in just sitting holding the chair because we have to answer to the public. A new government has been formed, we hope that they will rise above politics and focus on serving the people. Chandannagar is a very beautiful city and we all should protect it together. Winning and losing goes on in elections.”

Chandannagar Municipal Corporation: Current mathematics of seats (At a Glance)

Before this mass resignation, the party situation within the Municipal Corporation was as follows:

After this big incident, the future of Chandannagar Municipal Corporation is completely hanging in the balance. Political analysts believe that in the coming days, such major administrative and political reshuffles may be seen in many other districts and municipalities of Bengal.