Work for people: Mamata Banerjee to newly-elected Siliguri councillors

A day after winning four municipal boards, 198 seats out of 226, the Bengal Chief Minister has instructed Siliguri’s newly-elected public representatives to work for the people and not seek too much in return as councillor. The Trinamool has won the municipal corporation in Siliguri for the first time. The town is a prominent business centre and is considered the gateway to the North-East.

So far considered a Left bastion, the Trinamool has been able to finally get a hold of the city administration by winning 37 seats out of 47. Both - Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha constituency from the region have BJP representations.

While the Trinamool has retained all major municipal areas in the state, including Kolkata, getting Siliguri’s administration has political significance for the party. While the Left lost it, the BJP couldn’t get it, despite having political strength in the region.

Trinamool’s vote share in the Siliguri municipal election is a strong 47 per cent. The BJP stood around 23 per cent, and the Left gained around 18 per cent. Could this be a hint on how voters are going to vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha election in 2024? A municipal election is an inadequate sample to extrapolate wider political swings, the Trinamool leadership, however, is happy at having been able to win this ‘fort’ in north Bengal.

The Trinamool chief has also said that the development of the region will be closely monitored. She asked the newly-elected councillors to ensure that the people are not left complaining, so should be the standard of work. Siliguri, which has remained with the Left for all these years, despite the Trinamool and the BJP having aggressively won seats in the state, will now be developed on lines of Kolkata and its adjoining Rajarhat.

In another development, a BJP MP also participated in a meeting, attended by the CM, concerning tribal affairs. A meeting with industrialists is also to take place in the region tomorrow.

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