Elected members of the BJP in five panchayats of Cooch Behar joined the Trinamool Congress on Friday, an exodus triggered purportedly by the defeat of Nisith Pramanik, the Lok Sabha candidate of the saffron camp.
With these changes, Trinamool has secured a majority in the five rural bodies where the BJP came to power in last year’s panchayat elections.
On Friday afternoon, BJP panchayat members of Bhetaguri-II and Matalhat, near Pramanik’s residence, switched allegiance at a function in Dinhata in the presence of the newly elected Trinamool MP, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia.
Later on Friday evening, three more panchayats — Bhetaguri-I, Paradubi and Nayarhat — saw BJP members defecting to Trinamool.
Amid the changes, Bhetaguri saw an overnight change in the colour of the panchayat office. Last year, when the BJP won the Bhetaguri-II panchayat, it painted the panchayat office saffron.
On Saturday, TMC engaged workers to paint the office blue and white, the signature colours of the Trinamool-led state government.