Two former Trinamool Congress-linked representatives from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation have joined the Congress ahead of the KMC elections, giving the opposition party a fresh presence in central Kolkata’s municipal politics.
Farzana Chowdhury, a councillor from the former Ward 64, and Sanchita Mondal, a councillor from Ward 51 and former borough chairperson, joined Congress on Wednesday at the Central Kolkata District Congress office at Haji Mohammed Mohsin Square, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin.
West Bengal Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar formally handed the party flags to the two leaders. Central Kolkata District Congress president Manas Sarkar, party general secretary Partha Bhowmik and other Congress leaders were also present at the joining event.
The move comes as political parties prepare for the next Kolkata municipal contest. The two leaders are reported to have organisational influence across parts of central Kolkata, with support extending from the Sealdah area towards Ballygunge. Their entry could strengthen Congress’s local network, although the report does not provide details of their future constituencies, electoral plans or whether they will contest on Congress tickets.
Chowdhury previously belonged to the Communist Party of India and won the 2020 municipal election on a Left-backed ticket before later joining the Trinamool Congress, the report said. Mondal had served as a borough chairperson in the Kolkata civic administration.
The developments highlight the continuing importance of councillor-level political networks in Kolkata’s municipal contests. Unlike state or national elections, civic polls are fought through ward-level organisation, neighbourhood relationships and the ability of candidates to maintain contact with residents on issues such as roads, drainage, waste collection and local services. The source report, however, does not specify how the two leaders’ switch will affect ward-level equations or the Congress’s seat strategy.
Sangbad Pratidin also linked the Congress’s renewed activity to its performance in the Nandigram and Rejinagar by-elections, which it described as comparatively stronger results for the party. The report said Congress has contested elections independently at times and in alliance with the Left during the past 15 years, without achieving a major breakthrough.
The report further said that political changes in the state had led several Trinamool-linked leaders to look for alternative political platforms. It described Congress as seeking to position itself as one such option, particularly in the run-up to the municipal elections.
The next confirmed milestones are the formal election schedule, ward-level candidate announcements and the parties’ campaign plans. Until those details are released, the immediate significance of the move is limited to the strengthening of Congress’s visible municipal organisation in parts of Kolkata.
