India, Nov. 8 -- West Bengal's former ruling party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is facing a major organisational challenge ahead of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections scheduled for December, with several prominent former councillors and senior civic leaders refusing to contest the polls.

This decision has been taken by former Kolkata mayors Firhad Hakim and Sovan Chatterjee, along with several former members of the Mayor-in-Council and Borough Chairpersons, intensifying concerns within the party over its ability to field candidates across all 209 wards. This is quite a downfall for a party which ruled the state for 15 long years until it was dislodged in May this year by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The development comes ...