Shobha Subba, a schoolteacher in ward 42 of Siliguri, has become a councillor by a stroke of luck.

The new Trinamul leader is probably the only one among the 201 candidates who had contested the civic polls here on February 12, to be so.

Initially, her party had selected Hishey Bhutia as the candidate for ward 42.

Shobha had only accompanied Hishey with some others to the subdivision office to file the latter’s nomination papers.

However, during the process, it was found that Hishey’s Scheduled Tribe certificate was issued from Sikkim, rendering her ineligible to contest the civic elections in Bengal.

“The party leaders who were accompanying us got perplexed as they realised that her (Hishey’s) nomination would be eventually cancelled. This made them scout for an alternative candidate immediately. Suddenly, some of them asked me if I was ready to contest the elections. I was flummoxed with the proposal but assented to it,” said Shobha.

As she had made up her mind, Shobha rushedhome and returned to the SDO office with her documents to file her nomination.

According to party insiders, she is also the youngest candidate in terms of her tenure in Mamata Banerjee’s party.

The teacher had joined Trinamul on January 3 this year to step into the political arena.

The teacher proved to be a fast learner.

After filing her nomination, Shobha got into campaign mode, meeting people of the ward, listening to their demands and requesting them to vote for her while underscoring that Trinamul should come to power at the civic body for Siliguri’s development in the interest of the residents.

As results of SMC polls were announced on February 14, it was found that she had won the ward, defeating the BJP candidate by a margin of 167 votes.

“It was a tough contest as ward 42 was believed to be a stronghold of CPM. The party has never lost the ward since 1994, that is, the year Siliguri municipality was upgraded to a municipal corporation. In the past 28 years, this is the first time that any other party has won the ward,” said Shobha. The CPM candidate finished third this time.

Shobha’s win has left her in a daze.

“I still can’t believe that I have become an elected representative within a span of one-and-a-half months after joining Trinamul. It is indeed a challenge for me to work for the people and meet their aspirations as they have voted for me,” she said.