Congress expressed strong disapproval towards the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday, just a day after the only Congress MLA in West Bengal, Bayron Biswas, joined the TMC. The Grand Old Party accused the TMC of engaging in "poaching" tactics that do not contribute to strengthening Opposition unity, but rather serve the objectives of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Jairam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary and in charge of Communications, took to Twitter to launch a scathing attack on the TMC, highlighting Biswas' swift transition to the ruling party merely three months after securing a historic win as a Congress MLA.
Jairam Ramesh deemed this act as a complete betrayal of the people's mandate in the Sagardighi Assembly constituency.
In a tweet, Ramesh stated, "Three months after he was elected as a Congress MLA in a historic victory, Bayron Biswas has been lured away by the TMC in West Bengal. This is a complete betrayal of the mandate of the people of the Sagardighi Assembly constituency. Such poaching, which has happened earlier in Goa, Meghalaya, Tripura, and other states, is not designed to strengthen Opposition unity and only serves the BJP's objectives."
Implications For Opposition Unity
The defection of Biswas, Congress's sole MLA in the state assembly, to the ruling TMC on Monday, in the presence of TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, has left Congress in a weakened position in the state.
Congress drew a parallel between this incident and previous instances of alleged MLA poaching in states such as Goa, Meghalaya, Tripura, and others.
The timing of this division between the two parties is noteworthy, as attempts are underway to unite the Opposition and present a formidable challenge to the BJP in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.