BJP's Barrackpore municipality Councillor joins TMC with 250 followers

The only BJP Councillor in Barrackpore Municipality Ramesh Shaw on Sunday joined the Trinamool Congress along with 250 of his followers.

Shaw was the only BJP Councillor in the municipality. He is the Councillor of ward number 17.

With Ramesh joining the party, the total number of Trinamool Congress Councillors in the municipality has gone up to 19 and with the remaining four being Left Front members.

Jyotipriya Mallick, the president of the party in North 24 Parganas, handed the flag of Trinamool Congress over to him in the party's district headquarters at Barasat.

Mallick later said that a few days ago Shaw had expressed his wish to leave BJP and join Trinamool Congress. He was the only BJP Councillor in the municipality and followed all the legal procedures that need to be done in order to change his party. Finally he joined Trinamool Congress on Sunday.

There was a meeting of senior Trinamool Congress leaders in Barasat on Sunday evening and Mallick handed over the party's flag to Shaw after the meeting. Around 250 others have joined Trinamool Congress along with Shaw.

Mallick said that Shaw and others have joined Trinamool Congress to be a part of the ongoing development in the state under the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

According to political analysts, this is a major blow to BJP in North 24 Parganas and came within a few weeks of BJP's all India president Amit Shah's visit to the state.

He had directed the leaders in the state to take necessary steps to ensure strengthening of the party's organisation in each and every block. It may be mentioned that a few days ago Pujali Municipality in South 24-Parganas was left with no Opposition after the only remaining victorious Councillors of BJP joined Trinamool Congress on May 21. BJP had won two seats in Pujali, but the party had failed to stop them from joining Trinamool Congress despite fighting the election as BJP candidates.