Pabitra Kar, wife quit politics after Nandigram election loss

Nandigram: Pabitra Kar, the Trinamool candidate from Nandigram who had switched from BJP to contest against Suvendu Adhikari, has announced his exit from active politics following his defeat in the assembly elections.Kar and his wife, Shiuli Kar, on Friday submitted their resignations from local body posts to the Nandigram Block II BDO, citing ill health. Kar resigned as a member of the Boyal gram panchayat, while Shiuli Kar stepped down as panchayat pradhan.Both had won the 2023 panchayat elections on BJP tickets. Kar was earlier considered a close aide of Adhikari and was seen as a key organiser behind Adhikari's 2021 Nandigram victory over former chief minister Mamata Banerjee.His switch to Trinamool in March had created a political stir. Trinamool had named him its Nandigram candidate the same day in an attempt to challenge Adhikari in his stronghold.Kar, however, lost to Adhikari by 9,665 votes in the results declared on May 4.The resignations come amid reports of a wider wave of Trinamool functionaries stepping down from posts across East Midnapore, affecting local administrative services in several areas.