The district leaders of Trinamul Congress in South Dinajpur who had been facing inner conflicts among their party men are now facing a bigger challenge of settling multiple candidatures against the limited seats for the rural elections.

It is learnt that in the gram panchayat and zillaparisad, more than 250 additional candidates from all over the district have submitted their nomination.

Balurghat block remains to be mostly affected due to a large difference in nomination submission and actual number of seats. According to the notification flouted by the state election commission, the last date of withdrawal of nomination papers has been set to 16 April.

Top leaders in the district in the meantime are trying to form a list of candidates based on the formula of “single seat single candidate.”

“There may be a lot of aspirations among the leaders in all the level but we have to understand the reality. We are focusing on our party’s betterment. Extra nominations or extra candidature will not be an issue for us. We are interacting with the leaders’ everyday and are trying to form a unanimous decision with the consent of the higher authorities. Everything will be solved within 16 April,” said district TMC leader, Arpita Ghosh.

According to sources, TMC leaders in the district have failed devoting themselves in the process of campaigning because of their involvement in solving clashes among their leaders and ground level workers.

According to the reports of the district election cell, the total number of seats in all the three tire rural election is 1180 however, 1320 candidates of the ruling party have already filed their nomination papers and the situation has become a challenge for leaders to control the additional candidates. District leaders including Arpita Ghosh are trying to convince them through repeated meetings, it is learnt.

In Balurghat block there are 11 gram panchayats and the number of seat allotted for them are 174 while the number of panchayat samity seat are 32 and in most of the panchayat samity seats more than one candidate from the ruling party have submitted their nomination, claimed sources.

In Balurghat block, block president, Bipllab Khan and MLA, Tapan have formed two different groups and according to TMC sources, for the Panchayat Samity Bowaldar no – 26 seat, three candidates — Subrata Mahanata, Pintu Sarkar and Nihar Banerjee have submitted their nominations. An additional zilla parishad candidate of the TMC, Manaram Das has already withdrawn her nomination because of the chaos in selection of candidates.

She was earlier a zilla parisad member from Balurghat. Her husband, Lagin Das is a gram panchayat Pradhan of Vatpara village in the district. “District leaders have talked with me and I have willingly withdrawn my nomination. I will be working for the party,” said Manarama Das.