3 BJP MPs to join TMC?
After the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) colossal debacle in the elections, a number of its public representatives have been losing confidence in the party and its leadership. Speculations within the political circles of Bengal suggest that three Members of Parliament from the BJP are in talks with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to switch sides in the near future.
Rumble in the north?
Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Chairperson Mamata Banerjee met the BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP and Rajbangshi leader from Coochbehar Ananta Maharaj, who has reportedly informed her about his disgruntlement with the saffron camp. When asked by the media about his allegiance to the BJP, Maharaj said that he surely got elected on a BJP ticket, but that doesn’t mean he is a BJP member.
Visible disgruntlement
BJP’s MP-elect from Bengal’s Bishnupur constituency Saumitra Khan has reportedly been sending feelers to Kalighat regarding his desire to rejoin his earlier party. Khan has expressed his anger on the local BJP leadership and replied respectfully when asked about Mamata Banerjee and party General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee. He was up against his former spouse Sujata Mondal, who ran on a TMC ticket, with Khan retaining the constituency by a slender margin of 5.5 thousand votes.
Surprise entry?
TMC fielded Raiganj MLA Krishna Kalyani from the parliamentary constituency which bears the same name and is in North Dinajpur district. While Kalyani was elected on a BJP ticket in 2021, he switched teams to bat for Mamata Banerjee, but was defeated this time by the BJP’s Kartick Chandra Paul, who had joined from Trinamool. Paul was the chairman of the Kaliaganj Municipality. If Paul is accepted into Trinamool, it would surely enhance the party’s footprint in north Bengal, which has already managed to crack the BJP’s stronghold by wresting Coochbehar.
