TMC loses control of Mekhliganj Municipality after chairperson & 6 councillors switch to Congress

Mekhliganj Municipality in Cooch Behar district has come under Congress control after Chairperson Prabhat Patni and six councillors switched from the Trinamool Congress to the Congress. The leaders formally joined the party on Friday, altering the political composition of the nine-member civic body.

The induction took place at the West Bengal Pradesh Congress headquarters, Bidhan Bhavan, in Kolkata. The defecting leaders joined the Congress in the presence of state Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar and other senior party leaders. Prabhat Patni, who served as the chairperson of the municipality, was among those who changed political allegiance.

Mekhliganj Municipality consists of nine wards. With six councillors moving from the Trinamool Congress to the Congress, the latter now holds a majority in the civic body. Senior Congress leaders, including Debaprasad Roy and Biswajit Sarkar, were present during the joining programme.

The development comes amid a series of resignations and defections reported from local bodies across West Bengal following recent political changes in the state. The shift in Mekhliganj Municipality has drawn attention in Cooch Behar district and has changed the political control of the municipality.