Kolkata, June 19: The political landscape in West Bengal is shifting as another municipal board led by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) faces dissolution. Gautam Dev, the Mayor of Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC), submitted his resignation on Friday.
Dev sent his resignation to SMC Commissioner Ashwini Kumar Roy. With this move, Siliguri Municipal Corporation has become the fourth municipal board in the state on the verge of dissolution.
Previously, the mayors of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC), and Chandannagar Municipal Corporation (CMC) also resigned from their positions. The first to step down was Bidhannagar’s Mayor Krishna Chakraborty, followed by KMC’s Mayor and four-time TMC MLA Firhad Hakim. Chandannagar’s Mayor Ram Chakraborty also resigned shortly after.
Reports indicate that Gautam Dev held a meeting with members of the Mayor-in-Council on Thursday, where he expressed his desire to resign. Some council members attempted to persuade him to complete his term for another year, but Dev remained resolute in his decision.
Gautam Dev first entered politics by winning the Dabgram-Fulbari seat in the 2011 assembly elections, taking on the role of Minister for North Bengal Development. After being re-elected in 2016, he was appointed the state’s Tourism Minister.
However, he faced defeat in the 2021 assembly elections against BJP candidate Shikha Chatterjee. Despite this setback, under his leadership, TMC won the Siliguri Municipal elections in 2022, leading to his appointment as Mayor. In the upcoming 2026 assembly elections, he is expected to face BJP candidate and current West Bengal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shankar Ghosh.
Leave a Comment