Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim has said that the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) should be “run politically on the same lines” of the TMC-led state government if the town was to see “real development.”

Significantly, in a counter to Mr Hakim’s so-called “double engine” concept, the leader of the Opposition, BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, on the other hand, said the state government has now become “insolvent” and that the BJP would be able to usher in development in the town by using the “triple engine.”

Talking to reporters at Bagdogra Airport today, Mr Hakim said: “Being the minister for Urban Development and Municipal Affairs, I tried hard to bring in real development in Siliguri. But I couldn’t do it because, just to malign the state government, the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) authorities politically did not accept state government’s assistance and even intentionally could not utilize funds properly.”

It may be mentioned here that former mayor and veteran Left leader Asok Bhattacharya has repeatedly alleged non-cooperation of the state government when it came to the development of the town, and has alleged that the state government had not allotted the required funds and did not sanction legitimate claims.

“For Siliguri to see real development, the SMC should be run on the same lines politically with the state government led by Mamata Banerjee. I mean to say, as the state government is led by Mamata Banerjee, the Corporation should be run by Mamata Banerjee’s help. If so, it will help me and I will be able to bring in real development,” Mr Hakim, who is also the Kolkata mayor, said.

Mr Hakim, who is presently the Minister in Charge of Transport and Housing, was here today to campaign for 11 of the 47 wards that will go to the polls on 12 February.

On the other hand, addressing the Press here today, Mr Adhikari said: “Trinamool Congress is begging for votes here with the ‘double engine’ plank. I urge Siliguri people to vote for the BJP to bring in development through the ‘triple engine.’ “Darjeeling MP Raju Bista will bring in development hereby coordinating with the Centre for the required funds, BJP MLAs here will look after Siliguri from their end, and a BJP-led Corporation will develop Siliguri from the grassroots,” he said.

“In 2019, Siliguri residents gave huge votes to Raju Bista and he was elected as an MP from the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat. In 2021 too, Siliguri people voted for the BJP and its candidate Shankar Ghosh was elected. We hope that in 2022 too, Siliguri will vote for the saffron party candidates to complete a political victory circle.”

According to the BJP leader, the TMC would not be able to develop Siliguri due to the funds crunch. “For the first time, the state government has borrowed huge amount of money from the market thrice in January 2022. The TMC-led state government has become insolvent in running some schemes for vote bank politics,” he said.

Mr Adhikari also confessed: “I visited this region several times earlier. I also campaigned here for the Congress and TMC and it came to power. I was asked to make several promises here during poll campaigning. But no commitment was fulfilled.” Another BJP MP Arjun Singh was also in Siliguri today for campaigning