West Bengal Parties Prepare for Kolkata and Howrah Municipal Elections Amid Trinamool Split

Political rivalry within various factions of the Trinamool Congress has intensified as parties prepare for municipal elections in Kolkata and Howrah, with poll notifications expected within a few days. The Mamata All India Trinamool Congress, the Democratic Trinamool Congress, and a faction of MPs who joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India are all positioning themselves for the polls.

Candidate Selection And Alliances

A leader from the Mamata camp stated that local loyalists will get priority during candidate selection, while talks on seat adjustments with the Congress remain undecided. Pradesh Congress general secretary Asutosh Chatterjee noted that central leaders make decisions regarding alliances, and no such talks have taken place so far. Meanwhile, Democratic Trinamool Congress president Arup Roy announced that his party will not form an alliance with the NCPI and will contest on its own.

Direct Conflict And Disqualification Petitions

Kolkata MLA Kunal Ghosh targeted the NCPI after a local wall graffiti featuring Kolkata North Lok Sabha member Sudip Bandopadhyay had its face covered with black paint while images of Union home minister Amit Shah and state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya remained untouched. Ghosh stated that whoever disfigured the graffiti should not spare other traitors in the party. Earlier on October 20, the 20 former Trinamool MPs in the NCPI asked Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for more time to reply to disqualification petitions filed against them by the MAITC.

BJP Strategy

The Bharatiya Janata Party held its first preparatory meeting in Kolkata with central leaders present, as the party currently controls 209 of Bengal's 294 Assembly seats. Union minister of state Sukanta Majumdar, who leads the BJP election committee for Kolkata, stated that candidates will be chosen based on proven performance rather than entertaining people from other parties, and ruled out fielding past Trinamool councillors who switch camps now. BJP poll committee co-convenor Ritesh Tiwari confirmed that the party will contest all seats without allies.

Administration And Recent Legislative Changes

Administrators appointed by the state currently run the civic bodies in Kolkata and Howrah, following the resignation of the Kolkata mayor and councillors in May after the party's defeat to the BJP in the Assembly polls. No elections have taken place in the Howrah Municipal Corporation since 2018 due to delimitation rules. In August, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed two bills to increase civic wards from 144 to 209 in Kolkata and from 50 to 68 in Howrah, with state urban development and municipal affairs minister Agnimitra Paul stating the changes aim to speed up civic service delivery.

Context

Municipal elections in major urban centers like Kolkata and Howrah are crucial battlegrounds for state-level political dominance in West Bengal. Internal splits within major regional parties often alter local election dynamics by splitting the traditional vote base among multiple rival factions.