Left Front forms Siliguri Municipal Corporation board

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Marking a departure from the Trinamool Congress sweep in the recently-held civic polls in West Bengal, the Left Front today formed the board in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation.
Left Front candidate Ashok Bhattacharya, a former state minister and a CPI-M veteran, was elected the Mayor while the Chairman's post also went to L F candidate Dilip Singh.
Bhattacharya bagged votes of 24 councillors while his rival Trinamool Congress' Nantu Pal got 16 votes. One councillor's vote was cancelled.
In the chairman's post, Left Front's Dilip Singh secured 24 votes while his Trinamool Congress opponent Ranjan Sarkar received 17 votes.
The election was held among 41 councillors out of a total strength of 47, the rest, two of the BJP and four of the Congress, having decided not to participate in the election.

The new Mayor promised corruption-free functioning of the board and said he would seek state and Central help.
Darjeeling MP S S Ahluwalia of the BJP said his party would give outside support to the new municipal board.