Jolt for BJP as 3 of its civic poll candidates join TMC
KOLKATA: BJP MP Arjun Singh's brother-in-law Sunil Singh, nephews Aditya and Sourav—voicing grievance over BJP's style of functioning—joined Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday.
Senior TMC leader Jyotipriya Mallick welcoming the trio handed over the party flag to former MLA Sunil Singh, his son Aditya and Garulia Municipality's ex-chairperson Saurabh Singh.
Sunil Singh who on Saturday withdrew his nomination said: "I had betrayed Trinamool Congress and joined BJP. But I did not get peace of mind and so I have come back to Trinamool."
Sunil Singh had said that they were feeling suffocated in the BJP party and they were not being able to do any work concerning the development of the people.
There is a spree to quit BJP since the party did poorly in the Assembly elections in 2021.
Trinamool has already won in three municipalities—Dinhata in Cooch Behar, Sainthia in Birbhum and Budge Budge in South 24-Parganas—uncontested after the opposition parties either failed to field candidates or withdrew them.
In Taki municipality, Trinamool Congress won in six wards uncontested after the BJP candidates withdrew themselves from the election battle.
State BJP leaders said Sunil Singh and his family members jumping ship to Trinamool will not affect the party in any way. "There are workers who had joined the BJP to satisfy their narrow personal interest. Once they found that they cannot fulfil it they left. This will not affect the party in any way," said Dilip Ghosh, the party's national vice president.
Plagued by infighting and exodus, the Bengal BJP, which is still licking its wounds after the Assembly poll defeat, is staring at bleak prospects in the state as senior leaders engage in feud off and on social media, leaving little time for the party's growth.
Churnings in the Bengal BJP had started after the recent organisational revamp, with several senior leaders and party legislators openly criticising the top brass. Last month, nine BJP MLAs had exited BJP legislators' WhatsApp group.
