Kolkata: In a significant political development ahead of the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, Aruna Mardi, the first wife of BJP MP Khagen Murmu, formally joined the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday.
The event took place at the TMC headquarters in Kolkata, where she was welcomed into the party with the TMC flag by state Education minister Bratya Basu and Forest Minister Birbaha Hansda.
Aruna Mardi, a tribal leader with past associations with both the CPI(M) and the BJP, expressed that she was motivated to join TMC due to her admiration for the work of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. She said that she wanted to work for the upliftment of women from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes who have historically been neglected and deprived of opportunities.
Earlier in her political journey, Mardi was active in the CPI(M) and worked with the Democratic Women’s Front before joining the BJP alongside her then-husband,
Khagen Murmu. However, she said she did not receive any formal position or recognition within the BJP despite her efforts.
Her entry into TMC is seen as a symbolic gain for the party in tribal regions of North Bengal as election campaigns intensify.