BJP moves Calcutta HC challenging TMC's no-confidence meeting at Bhatpara municipality

In its petition, BJP said that the no-confidence called by Trinamool Congress " is illegal."

The tussle of controlling the municipal body between BJP and TMC began after 12 councillors of the civic body quit BJP to rejoin TMC recently.

A total of 19 TMC councillors in the 34 members strong municipality had switched over to BJP after the saffron camp's stupendous performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Later on, few others too had joined taking BJP's strength in the civic body to 26 in the 35-member board in June.

"With 12 of our councillors returning to TMC, our strength in Bhatpara municipality has gone up to 21 in the 35-member municipality," said a senior leader of TMC.

TMC called a no-confidence recently to take control of the municipality and no BJP councillor attended the meeting.

Senior BJP leader Mukul Roy accused TMC of using political and administrative powers to force the councillors to rejoin it.

"After the councillors joined BJP they are being threatened by police and goons," Roy said.

Roy, who was earlier the second in command in TMC, expressed confidence that BJP will win the next years civic polls at Bhatpara.

The BJP had formed the board in Bhatpara municipality in North 24 Parganas district after winning the trust vote in June.

Sourav Singh, the nephew of Barrackpore Lok Sabha lawmaker Arjun Singh, was elected its new chairman.

Arjun Singh, a former four-time TMC assembly member, was the chairman of Bhatpara municipality since 2010 till April this year.

He had then joined BJP and wrested the Barrackpore Lok Sabha from his old party by defeating TMC's Dinesh Trivedi.

“The chief of the municipal body has called a no-confidence meeting in the coming 20 January,” Singh said,” We will prove our majority in the meeting.”