The Trinamool Congress today officially formed the board in Chandannagar Municipal Corporation following which the new Mayor announced there would be no water tax.

“We have decided not to impose any water tax here. Our leader Mamata Banerjee has already announced her policy that we will not put the burden of water tax on the people,” said Ram Chakraborty, who was elected the Mayor today in presence of leader of the Opposition in state Assembly Partho Chatterjee, Trinamool MP Ratna

De Nag and Ratan Banerjee, the local CPM MLA.

Speaking after the occasion, Chatterjee said the Corporation would work in cooperation with all political parties. “We will not differentiate between political colours. We will all work together; we need everybody’s support,” he said.

Chandannagar became a Corporation in 1995 and was initially ruled by the Congress for two-and-a-half years. Since then, the board was under the control of the Left. This year, Trinamool won 23 of the 33 seats in the Corporation, while the Left Front won eight. Three seats went to Independents. Congress drew a blank.

Meanwhile, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee today held meetings with district Trinamool leaders at her Kalighat residence during which she reportedly gave a green signal to district leaders to form boards in various municipalities of Burdwan and Hooghly with the Congress help.

“She gave her nod for post-poll tie-up with Congress in Burdwan, which is a CPM stronghold, and Hooghly where a number of municipalities have thrown up a hung verdict,” said a senior Trinamool leader who attended the meeting.

In Burdwan, Trinamool is all set to form board in Memari, once considered a red bastion and home turf of CPM hardliner Binoy Konar. But in two other municipalities of Kalna and Daihat, Trinamool is set to take Congress’s help to form the board.

In the same district, Ranigunj and Jamuria are under the Left control , where as in Kalna, Congress will form the board on its own. State Congress leaders, including the state unit’s working president Pradip Bhattacharjee have already said they have approached Trinamool for forming boards jointly in the districts.