Over 100 BJP members in Raiganj municipality join Trinamool

Raiganj: In a significant political shift, over 100 leaders and members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including Ujjal Kumar Das, the secretary of the BJP Raiganj Sahar Mandal Committee, from Raiganj municipality area crossed over to the TMC.

The mass defection took place on Sunday evening at a programme organised at the North Dinajpur TMC office, where Krishna Kalyani, the TMC MLA of Raiganj, welcomed the new members by handing them the TMC flag.

Ujjal Kumar Das, who had previously contested as a BJP candidate from Ward No. 7 of Raiganj municipality in 2017, cited the lack of opportunities within the BJP to work for the common people as a primary reason for his decision. He praised the TMC MLA Krishna Kalyani for his efforts towards development in Raiganj; his stance against corruption and his commitment to fighting crime, which Das noted as significant factors that influenced the decision to switch allegiance.

Krishna Kalyani, commenting on the defections, stated: “The joining of these important BJP members to TMC will provide additional strength to us in the Raiganj municipality area. Very soon, another group of BJP members will join TMC in Raiganj municipality area.” Basudev Sarkar, the president of the North Dinajpur BJP committee, stated: “Those who joined TMC were ousted from BJP before. Their joining TMC will not affect our party.”