After losing Malda, Congress today received another setback when it lost control of the Zilla Parishad in Murshidabad, the backyard of WBPCC president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, when seven of its members switched over to Trinamool Congress.
"In the 70-member Murshidabad Zilla Parishad which has an effective strength of 69, 10 members joined TMC. Earlier we had 29 members and required six more to capture the board. We have now got the majority with 39 members," senior TMC leader and Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari told reporters here.
Of the 10 who joined TMC, seven are from Congress, two from CPI(M) and one from RSP, a Left Front partner, said Adhikari who is also TMC's in-charge of Murshidabad district.
It is a big jolt for Congress as Murshidabad district has long been considered its stronghold.
When asked that TMC was engineering defection from other parties, he said those who joined have followed Constitutional provision.
He said they (who joined) realised that they have to go with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to usher in development. "The whole state is under Trinamool Congress. How can Murshidabad be left out?", he asked.
TMC had captured Zilla Parishad in neighbouring Malda, another Congress stronghold last month when 14 members belonging to Congress and Left defected to the party.
Commenting on today's development, Congress MLA from Murshidabad Manoj Chakrabarty said those who defected should resign and take fresh mandate of the people.
"It is highly immoral to get elected on one party's symbol and then defect to another party," he said.
Senior CPIM leader Sujan Chakrabarty accused TMC of trying to make the state 'opposition less' and threatening people belonging to opposition parties to join it.
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