Beldanga municipality comes under TMC fold, Cong suffers jolt

With six Congress councillors among seven switching over to the Trinamool Congress today, the Congress-controlled Beldanga municipality in Murshidabad district came under the ruling party's fold, dealing a blow to PCC chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury who hails from the district.
Suvendu Adhikari, senior TMC leader and Transport minister, said that six councillors of the Congress and one of the RSP joined the TMC, giving the party an "effective" control over the Beldanga municipality.
The seven councillors, who joined the TMC, included the chairman and the vice-chairman of the municipality, he said.
Of the 14 councillors of the municipality, TMC now has seven, BJP three, Congress three and the CPI-M one. Thus the divided opposition ranks gave the TMC an effective control over the municipality, Adhikari said.

He said by the end of the current year there would be "no sign" of the Congress in Murshidabad district, which state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury claimed to be his "stronghold".
Adhikari said the Congress decision to align with the CPI-M during the last Assembly poll had proved to be a "political harakiri" as the rank and file of the Congress did not accept the alliance.
Only last week TMC had taken over two opposition- controlled municipal bodies - one in Murshidabad district and the other in Purulia district.