In yet another blow to the Congress in West Bengal, two more of its MLAs have joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC), bringing down its number in the Assembly to 39.
Kanaia Lal Agarwal from the Islampur Assembly seat in Uttar Dinajpur district and Hasanuzzaman Seikh from Kaliganj Assembly seat in Nadia district left the Congress for the Trinamool on Wednesday.
The Congress had won 44 seats in the last Assembly poll, but five of its MLAs have so far left the party.
Speaking to journalists, Trinamool MP and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee said one of the key reasons behind the defections was the disgust the MLAs felt for the “opportunist alliance” between the Left and the Congress.
“We are not forcing anyone to join the TMC. Those who are coming to the Trinamool are doing so to be a part of the Chief Minister’s development drive,” Mr. Banerjee said.
Earlier this month, senior Congress MLA from Sabang constituency in Paschim Medinipur and former State Congress president Manas Bhunia joined the ruling party. The seven-time Congress MLA was also a member of the All-India Congress Committee.
Status in municipalitiesThe Trinamool has gained control over the Congress-held Murshidabad Municipality in Murshidabad district and the Islampur Municipality in Uttar Dinajpur district. In Murshidabad, nine councillors from the Congress and one each from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the All-India Forward Bloc defected to the Trinamool, taking its tally to 12 from just one in the 15-member municipality.
As for Islampur, 10 Congress and two Bharatiya Janata Party councillors joined the Trinamool Congress, raising its tally from three to 15 in the 17-member municipality. The Trinamool now controls six of the seven municipalities in Murshidabad.
The Trinamool has already gained control of the Murshidabad, Malda and Jalpaiguri zilla parishad (district council) through defections. In Purulia district, the ruling party gained control over the Jhalda Municipality.
