Siliguri, 31st December: An atmosphere of tension engulfed the South Bharatnagar area under Ward No. 24 of Siliguri after the announcement of the Trinamool Congress’ candidate list for the upcoming Siliguri Municipal Corporation poll.
Reportedly, the party is fielding Pratul Chakraborty as its candidate for the said ward. As soon as Chakraborty’s name was announced, some residents started protesting the decision from this morning itself. The protesters held the party flag and demanded Trinamool leader Bikash Sarkar be the candidate for the ward instead. They demanded to change the candidate at the earliest.
Apparently, Pratul Chakraborty had contested as the party’s candidate in the previous election too but lost. Supporters of Bikash Sarkar raised questions as to why Chakraborty was re-nominated as a candidate.
In this context, Bikash Sarkar said the party has nominated those it considers eligible as candidates. “The residents want me to contest in this year’s poll, so they are protesting,” he added.
On the other hand, Pratul Chakraborty denied being aware of any protest and assured of the situation returning to normalcy before the election.