Forward Block MLA joins TMC

Months before next year’s assembly poll in West Bengal, Forward Bloc, a constituent of the Left Front, suffered reverses when its sitting MLA Tajmul Hussain joined the ruling Trinamool Congress on Saturday. 

The two-time Malda MLA joined the TMC at a public rally at Harischandrapur, 90 km from Malda town, attended by Subhendu Adhikary, TMC’s observer, and two state ministers. Earlier on October 2, Udayan Guha, a senior leader and sitting MLA from Dinhata in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district had joined the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, dealing a blow to the party founded by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.  

In the same meeting, CPI-M’s Malda Zilla Parishad member Samima Yasmin also joined the ruling party. Sunil Mondal, another Bloc MLA from Galsi Assembly seat in Burdwan district had also left the party and joined Trinamool Congress last year. Bloc was the second largest Left constituent which won 11 seats during 2011 Assembly elections.In November, Nabin Chandra Bag, elected to the State Assembly from Khandaghosh seat in the State’s Bardhaman district had also joined the ruling party from the CPI(M). Bag had accused his party of failing to reach out to the masses and said he took the decision to switch his political loyalties to join the “massive development programmes” initiated by CM Mamata Banerjee.