Senior BJP Leader Mukul Roy Likely To Join TMC Along With Son, Decision To Be Taken Today

This comes after the absence of three BJP heavyweights Mukul Roy, Shamik Bhattacharya and Rajib Banerjee at the recent meeting of the party's West Bengal unit has sparked rumours in state politics.

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Kolkata: In a major blow to the saffron party, Bharatiya Janata Party's National Vice President Mukul Roy is likely to join Trinamool Congress.

As per sources, the decision regarding his joining will be taken after his meeting with the party's top brass in Kolkata today.

This comes after the absence of three BJP heavyweights Mukul Roy, Shamik Bhattacharya and Rajib Banerjee at the recent meeting of the party's West Bengal unit sparked rumours in state politics.

Several turncoat politicians, who switched from the TMC to BJP ahead of recently held assembly polls, expressed regret over their decision to quit.

BJP's Bengal unit had held a high-powered organisational meeting on Tuesday where party leaders were required to be physically present.

Speaking on the absence of the three BJP leaders, Joy Prakash Majumdar, Vice-President, West Bengal BJP, said: "BJP National Vice President Mukul Roy could not attend the meeting as his wife is unwell and is in a hospital. On the day the meeting was scheduled, Bengal BJP chief spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya's father died of Covid and so he could not attend the meeting. Rajib Banerjee could not attend due to personal reasons".

Rajib Banerjee had recently said that people elected the government, perhaps referring to the TMC which returned to power with a resounding mandate, and added that they will not take it well if the threat of imposing the president's rule is constantly dangled to oppose the chief minister.

"Enough with the criticism. The people elected the government with a majority, they will not take it well if the threat of Section 365 is constantly dangled to oppose the chief minister," Rajib Banerjee had tweeted.

Commenting on Rahul Banerjee's tweet, Majumdar said that the BJP does not support this stance.

"It is completely his personal opinion and in no way the BJP at the state and national level supports his statement. Whatever stand Rajib Banerjee has taken, it is completely his personal opinion," Majumdar said.

The West Bengal BJP Vice-President also stated that the leaders, who want to go back to Trinamool Congress, are greedy for power.

"It is their primary right. Those who want to go to their old party can go back. They can decide whether they want to stay with this party and work for the people or go to the party from where they came. They want to go back to Trinamool Congress because they are greedy for power."

Mukul Roy was a founder-member of the TMC. He quit in 2017 and rose to prominence in the saffron party. After a lot of reports and speculations, Rajib Banerjee also left the TMC in January this year to contest the West Bengal assembly election on a BJP ticket.

Several leaders including Suvendu Adhikari, who once was a close aid of Mamata Banerjee, joined the BJP ahead of the Assembly election. BJP lost the polls but emerged as the second-largest party with 77 seats in the 294-member state assembly. Trinamool Congress registered a landslide victory winning 213 seats.

(With Agency Inputs)