According to a Kolkata based media agency, Kolkata 24×7, close aides of Mukul Roy, a BJP leader, and ex-Trinamool Congress MP have claimed that four MPs from Mamata’s party are soon going to join the BJP. Earlier, when Saumitra Khan left the TMC and joined BJP, Mukul Roy had claimed that six more TMC MPs would leave the party.
According to sources close to Mukul Roy, four out of those six TMC MPs are from south Bengal. Moreover, the BJP sources did not reveal about the MPs leaving TMC and joining the BJP. Further, the aides claimed that two among them enjoy powerful stature in the TMC. On further questioning, sources claimed that these MPs doubt getting tickets in 2019 Lok Sabha election, and that might be the reason behind them switching camps.
Not to forget that these claims are made by none other than Mukul Roy, who is the chairman of state BJP’s election management committee. Afterwards, there were speculations that more leaders from TMC may switch camps to join the saffron party following Saumitra khan.
Just after the suspension from TMC, Saumitra Khan had joined the BJP at the party headquarters in Delhi in the presence of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha and senior party leader Mukul Roy. Earlier, Anupam Hazra MP from Bolpur was also expelled from the party after being accused of “anti-party activities”. Hazra is also likely to join the saffron party soon.
On Khan’s suspension, TMC secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said that Khan had been expelled from the party following corruption charges and Hazra had been dismissed because of his anti-party activities.
Both Khan and Hazra refuted charges leveled against by the TMC. Khan said that he never indulged in corrupt practices and Hazra too brushed aside the allegations saying “I have neither been named in Saradha or Narada scams and neither have I raised money taking Mamata’s name or using my position. My only offence was my posts which the party found offensive and last year itself I had got rid of my Facebook profile”.
Further, Anupam Hazra questioned the TMC’s definition of anti-party activities and argued, “What is the definition of ‘anti-party activities’? I hope they tell me. How can writing on Facebook on contemporary issues be dubbed as anti-party activity?”
In recent times, leaders quitting the TMC and joining the BJP has become a trend. In the month of June last year, former TMC minister Humayun Kabir joined the BJP. Prior to this, one of the founding members of TMC- Mukul Roy– had also joined the BJP. In another instance, TMC Assam unit chief Dipen Pathak and two other state leaders resigned from the TMC owing to irreconcilable differences with Mamata Banerjee over the draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC). Overall, there appears a decisive shift in West Bengal in favour of BJP.
TMC through its propaganda machinery is desperately trying to prove that everything is well within the party but reports narrate a contrary story. TMC seems to be ignoring the violence unleashed by its cadre against political opponents. It is very clear from the ‘switching of camps’ in West Bengal that the saffron wave is ready to uproot TMC.