The chief of Trinamul-run Nandigram gram panchayat and mother of the party’s Keshpur MLA and minister of state, Seuli Saha, has resigned after a no-confidence motion was brought against her for allegedly being inactive during the Assembly poll campaign in a constituency where chief minister Mamata Banerjee lost to ex-protégé Suvendu Adhikari.

One of Trinamul’s veteran faces in Nandigram, Banashree Khanra, said she had resigned from the post. Party leaders accused her of being “inactive” during the election.

“She was not only inactive but also worked against the party in the polls. We brought a no-confidence against her for her role during the election,” said Swadesh Das, president of Trinamul’s Nandigram block 1 committee.

“She may be the mother of any MLA or minister but before moving the no-confidence motion, we had conducted a probe and she was identified as those local leaders who were inactive during the Assembly polls,” Das added.

Sources said after Mamata had lost to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari by 1,736 votes in Nandigram, Trinamul leaders were directed to conduct a survey to find out those who had “betrayed” the party. The leadership asked the local functionaries to take action against the saboteurs.

The party had already brought a no-confidence motion against at least half a dozen leaders holding portfolios in several gram panchayats and panchayat samitis and most of them have resigned.

Trinamul insiders said Khanra had put down her papers before the Nandigram block 1 development officer late on Wednesday after 11 out of 13 members of her panchayat had submitted a no-confidence motion against her earlier in the day.

“I don’t know whether a no-confidence motion had been brought against me. I resigned from the post on Wednesday because of my health,” said Khanra.

Seuli Saha, the minister of state in charge of panchayat and rural development, however, said her mother had campaigned for the party in Keshpur. “I will not comment on the Nandigram issue. But I can tell you that my mother was with me in Keshpur to campaign for me and Trinamul,” said Saha.

BJP worker dead

Debabrata Maity, 49, a BJP worker who had been injured in a clash between BJP and Trinamul workers on May 2 in East Midnapore’s Nandigram died on Thursday morning at a Calcutta hospital.

BJP workers protested at several places, including Nandigram police station, demanding the arrest of Trinamul workers they have accused of killing Maity. They said they would continue the movement till the accused were held.

After the poll results were announced on May 2, Nandigram MLA Suvendu Adhikari visited the constituency for the first time around 11pm on Thursday to pay respects to Maity.

Before the body arrived, Suvendu held a meeting with around 100 party leaders and workers. However, he avoided visiting the houses of BJP workers because of the tension gripping the region.