More than 1,000 BJP & Forward Bloc leaders join Trinamool

Kolkata: More than 1,000 Forward Bloc and BJP leaders and workers joined Trinamool Congress in West Midnapore.

The joining took place on Tuesday during the booth wise programme of martyrs' day in the district.

Ashok Bhattacharya, the district president of Forward Bloc, and Tapan Kumar Maity, general secretary of Forward Bloc in the district, joined Trinamool Congress.

Saumen Mahapatra, Trinamool Congress MLA from Pingla Assembly constituency in West Midnapore district and who is also the minister of the state Public Health Engineering department, handed over the party flag to the leader.

"A large number of workers have joined our party along with the Forward Bloc district president and general secretary. They have given us a list of 1000 workers who are now with us," Mahapatra said.

At the same time some BJP workers joined the party at Pindarui block in West Midnapore.

More than 350 people had also joined Trinamool Congress leaving BJP and CPIM in different parts of the state in the run up to the Martyrs' Day programme. The joining has taken place both in north and south Bengal.

Around 300 people joined Trinamool Congress at South Gangadharpur Gram Panchayat at Patharpratima in South 24-Parganas on Friday during a preparatory meeting for the virtual rally of Martyrs' Day. They joined the party leaving BJP, CPIM and Congress.