Lone Cong MLA joins TMC in presence of Abhishek
Kolkata: The victory of Byron Biswas, the lone Left-backed Congress MLA, in Sagardighi bypolls has often been projected by the Opposition parties as the “Sagardighi model” and was their trump card against the ruling dispensation in the Panchayat polls.
However, the much-hyped claim of Congress and the Left has fallen flat on Monday with Biswas joining the Trinamool Congress in the presence of the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in West Midnapore’s Ghatal.
After joining Trinamool, Biswas said that he won the by-election on his merit and there was no contribution from the grand old party. He further stated that he was unable to work for the people by staying in Congress.
Abhishek stated that Byron’s entire family is Trinamool supporters and Byron had tried several times to contact Trinamool’s top leadership before this by-election but failed. According to political analysts, this defection is a big blow to the Congress ahead of the Panchayat elections.
Abhishek welcomed the MLA in his party saying: “Byron Biswas has joined Trinamool and strengthened our hands in our fight against BJP. Double-speak of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is laughable. He claims that ED harasses Congress leaders in Delhi but praises ED’s action against Trinamool Congress in Bengal.”
He further stated: “Trinamool is ready to support Congress in places where they are strong but they should do the same in places where Trinamool Congress remains the principal force to take on the BJP.”
On the Left-Congress alliance, Banerjee said: “The overall result of the Ramdhanu alliance is zero. What results? The fight was between Trinamool and BJP. Who have the Congress leaders benefited from their alliance with the CPM-ISF? In Bengal where we are fighting BJP with all our might, Adhir Chowdhury is strengthening the hands of CPI(M) and BJP.”
He further stated: “In March this year, with the blessing of the people, Byron Biswas had emerged victorious in the bypolls that were held in Sagardighi. After taking oath as a legislator, he was in touch with me. Even during our Jano Sanjog Yatra, we spoke to each other. This morning, Biswas travelled from Murshidabad and joined us in Ghatal. Keeping Trinamool Congress’ developmental politics in mind, Biswas has joined us and strengthened our hands in our fight against the BJP.”
He added: “We are confident that Biswas will work selflessly for the people of Sagardighi under the guidance of our chairperson Mamata Banerjee. He will raise his voice against the discriminatory politics of BJP and against the Centre’s deprivation of funds for Bengal.” Speaking about the TMC-Congress alliance, Banerjee said: “Our chairperson Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly stated that she has no problem in supporting the Congress in order to defeat the BJP. However, the Pradesh Congress Chief is claiming that he will fight Trinamool. This implies that he has no intention of defeating the BJP. If by strengthening BJP in Bengal, Congress is thinking of defeating BJP, they are mistaken. The more seats you give BJP, the bigger the loss it will be for Congress.”
In response to media questions, Biswas said: “There was no contribution from the Congress behind my victory. We have always been at the grassroots. I also tried to get a Trinamool Congress ticket. If Congress had contributed, I would have won in 2021. I did not betray. If we have polls again, I will win with a larger margin after joining Trinamool.”
Reacting to another question by the media, Abhishek said: “If the Anti-Defection Law is applicable in Biswas’ case, the Bengal Assembly Speaker will decide, In my opinion, Congress had only one seat, so I am not sure if Anti-Defection Law would be applicable.”
Biswas won the Sagardighi Assembly bypoll by a margin of 22,986 votes, defeating Trinamool’s Debasish Banerjee in a constituency that has around 65 per cent minority population and whose support contributed to the ruling party’s stellar performance in the 2021 Assembly elections.
