Bayron Biswas, the only MLA from Congress in West Bengal, switched sides and joined Trinamool Congress in the presence of the TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Monday. Amidst the ongoing #JonoSanjogYatra, the social media account of TMC announced that Biswas had joined the TMC in the presence of Banerjee .
With Biswas joining TMC, Congress has been reduced to zero in the 294-member legislative assembly, which only has one Indian Secular Front (ISF) MLA and 69 BJP MLAs in the opposition boxes.
Taking to Twitter, AITC stated: “Today, during the ongoing #JonoSanjogYatra in the presence of Shri @abhishekaitc, INC MLA from Sagardighi Bayron Biswas joined us. We wholeheartedly welcome him to the Trinamool Congress family! “To strengthen your resolve to fight against the divisive and discriminatory politics of BJP, you have chosen the right platform. Together, we will win!"
Biswas, an MLA from Sagardighi constituency in Murshidabad district that is largely populated by minority groups, has joined the TMC as part of Trinamool eh Nabojowaar, a wide-ranging initiative to expand the party's influence.
Earlier this year, Biswas secured victory in a by-election for the Sagardighi seat on a Congress ticket, thereby granting the grand old party a foothold in the state assembly, after it failed to obtain any seats in the 2021 assembly elections.
Biswas, a wealthy businessman involved in the production of beedis, triumphed over Debashish Banerjee from TMC, who is related to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in the recent by-polls by a conclusive margin of 22,986 votes as revealed in the Election Commission's records. Dilip Saha was nominated by the BJP for the position.