The Sainthia Municipality in Birbhum district, West Bengal, was dissolved on Monday following the resignation of 14 Trinamool Congress councillors, including the chairman. They cited that “the common people have rejected the Trinamool.” This marks the first instance of a municipality board dissolution among the six municipalities in Birbhum district.
There are a total of 16 councillors in the Sainthia Municipality. In the recent municipal elections on February 27, 2022, Trinamool Congress candidates won 13 seats uncontested, with the remaining three seats also going to Trinamool candidates. Consequently, the municipality had no Opposition. The chairman of the municipality was Biplab Dutta, and the vice-chairman was Kazi Kamal Hussain.
On Monday, 14 councillors, including the chairman and vice-chairman, submitted their resignations to Suri Subdivision Administrator Supratik Singh. However, Councillor Manas Singh of Ward No. 3 and Councillor Maya Saha of Ward No. 9 did not resign. With the majority of members resigning, the municipality was dissolved.
Notably, out of the six municipalities in Birbhum district, Bolpur, Suri, Rampurhat, Dubrajpur, and Nalhati remain under Trinamool Congress control, with only the Sainthia Municipality being dissolved. The resignations were attributed to various reasons, including the rejection of Trinamool Congress by the public in the recent Assembly elections.
