Ready to join others to form panchayat boards: Bengal BJP

West Bengal's BJP unit on Sunday said the party was ready to join hands with other political outfits in the state at the grass roots level to stop the Trinamool Congress (TMC) from forming gram panchayat boards.

Accusing the TMC of intimidating their winning candidates in the state rural body elections, state Bharatiya Janata Party President Dilip Ghosh said the BJP has decided to work together with other state opposition parties to form boards in all the hung panchayat boards.

"The BJP will form the panchayat boards wherever we have the majority. Even in most of the hung bodies, the panchayat boards are being formed with our support. We have decided to join hands with rest of the political parties if necessary, to keep Trinamool away from power," Ghosh told the media here.

"The Trinamool is trying to intimidate our winning candidates in several places to make them switch to their party. Police and local administration is not taking any action against the miscreants. But the common people who have voted for us, do not want Trinamool to form the panchayat boards."

TMC had swept the rural body elections in May by winning more than 20,000 gram panchayat seats while the BJP emerged as a distant second with close to 6,000 seats.

The saffron outfit, however, managed to perform well in two western districts -- Purulia and Jhargram.

Ghosh claimed that his party will be able to form at least 300 panchayat boards in its own capacity.

"The BJP will form close to 300 panchayat boards, based on its own calibre. At least 100 other boards can be formed with our support elsewhere in the state," he added.

--IANS

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