Cong-Trinamul board in Siliguri

statesman news service
SILIGURI, 9 JULY: After a long spell of speculative murkiness interspersed with occasional vituperative bickering, the Congress and the Trinamul Congress finally formed the Siliguri Municipal Corporation Board jointly today. The incumbent mayor and a senior Congress leader, Ms Gangotri Datta, was re-elected for the post while the controversial Trinamul Congress councillor, Mr Ranjan Shil Sharma, was elected deputy mayor.  
Notably, Ms Datta resigned from her post and dissolved the mayor-in-council on 27 June to pave the way for the formation of a joint civic board. The Siliguri Municipal Corporation election was held in October 2009. The Congress and Tirnamul Congress alliance won 30 out of 47 wards. The Congress won 15 wards on its own while its alliance partner managed victory in 14 wards. The Left Front having won 17 wards was ousted from power.
The Trinamul strength rose to 15 after the Independent councillor, Mr Ranjan Sil Sharma, joined the party a few days after the election. Mr Sil Sharma was suspended from the Trinamul Congress following the infamous spitting incident involving the former Siliguri district inspector of schools. With uncertainty continuing over the post of mayor with the allies having stuck into a 15-ward tie, the Congress opted to seek support from the Left Front in having its member elected mayor. With the Left Front having obliged, Ms Datta was elected mayor. Angry with the development, the Trinamul Congress distanced itself from the board and refused to join the mayor-in-council despite repeated prodding from the Congress.
With the long-standing impasse having been resolved today, a beaming Ms Datta said that the election was unanimous and smooth. The north Bengal development minister, Mr Gautam Deb, said his party was happy. “The new board would complete its term glitch-free and would fulfil the collective expectations of the people,” he added.
However, the leader of the Opposition in the Corporation and the CPI-M leader, Mr Nurul Islam, has sounded sceptic over the stability of the joint board. “I am doubtful, given the inherent incompatibility involving the two camps,” he said.