When the mass exodus of rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders was taking place in West Bengal a few days ago, rumours were circulating that these leaders will be joining the Bharatiya Janata Party soon. On Saturday, these rumours turned into a reality as five MLAs and an MP from the TMC joined the BJP in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah in West Bengal.
Reportedly, a total of 11 MLAs joined the BJP. TMC MP Sunil Mondal and ex-MP Dasarath Tirkey along with MLAs Suvendu Adhikari, Tapasi Mondal, Ashoke Dinda, Sudip Mukherjee, Saikat Panja, Shibhadra Dutta, Dipali Biswas, Sukra Munda, Shyamapda Mukherjee, Biswajit Kundu and Banasri Maity joined the BJP on Saturday. However, Suvendu joining BJP is indeed intriguing as the West Bengal speaker rejected his resignation letter as it did not comply with the provisions of the Constitution and the rules of the House.
Meanwhile, Shah and Suvendu launched scathing attacks on Mamata Banerjee during a rally at College Ground in Paschim Medinipur. Shah has asked the public to vote for BJP to make Bengal into ‘Sonar Bangla’. “You gave three decades to Congress, 27 years to Communists and 10 years to TMC. Give five years to BJP and will make Bengal into ‘Sonar Bangla’,” Shah said.
He also attacked the Mamata, saying: “Senior TMC leaders are leaving the party and Didi is accusing the BJP of convincing party leaders of defection. But I would like to ask her when she quit Congress to form TMC, wasn’t that defection? This is just the start. By assembly election time, she will be alone in her party,” Shah told the gathering.
Even Suvendu hit out at his former party during the rally, saying that the economic condition of West Bengal is in bad condition. “The economic condition of West Bengal is in a very bad state. To salvage the state, it must be handed over to Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Suvendu said. In an open letter, Suvendu has asked TMC workers to join hands in the fight to restore West Bengal’s glory. However, former West Bengal minister Madan Mitra hit out at Suvendu. “If TMC has done nothing in the last 10 years, why were you silent,” Mitra asked when talking to agencies.
Suvendu has vowed to oust Mamata’s regime in 2021 assembly election and is confident that his new party will form the next government in West Bengal.
Shah, who is on a two-day visit, arrived in West Bengal on early on Saturday morning. He was greeted by supporters at the Kolkata airport. Midday, Shah paid tribute to freedom fighter Khudiram Bose at Bose’s native village. Later, Shah and other BJP leaders were seen eating lunch at a farmer’s house in Paschim Medinipur. A move many implied was to strengthen ties with farmers. Shah will be hosting a roadshow in West Bengal soon.
