In Tripura, Ashish Das and Rajib Banerjee return to TMC fold from BJP

In a key development, former Tripura BJP leader Ashish Das on Sunday joined TMC in the presence of party General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee. After resigning from BJP on October 5, Ashish Das shaved his head, took a swim in the Ganga, and offered prayers at a temple near West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's house. Following his quitting, the BJP stated that there was no imminent threat to its government in Tripura because the party has a majority in the Assembly, with 44 MLAs backing the government, including 36 BJP MLAs.

Apart from Das, West Bengal BJP leader Rajib Banerjee also rejoined the Trinamool Congress on Sunday during TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee's public rally in Tripura. Earlier this month, Rajib Banerjee, who served as a minister in Mamata Banerjee's cabinet was accepted into the BJP's national executive committee. Following his appointment to the committee, several BJP leaders expressed resentment with the national leadership's choice.

Tripura: Former BJP leader Ashish Das joined TMC today

BJP leader Rajib Banerjee also joins TMC

Rajib Banerjee contested as a BJP candidate in West Bengal's Domjur constituency, but suffered loss to TMC. Following his defeat, rumours speculating his return to TMC began circulating. This comes amid a number of BJP leaders in West Bengal, including Babul Supriyo, have defecting to the TMC. Rajib Banerjee was a member of the newly formed national executive committee, which was unveiled earlier in October. According to party insiders, no feedback from the state BJP unit was sought before the decision to include Rajib Banerjee's name on the committee announced on Thursday, which surprised many in the party, reported ANI. Banerjee's presence in the list annoyed certain BJP leaders in the state.

After suffering loss to TMC candidate in Domjur in the West Bengal elections, Rajib Banerjee in June, met with TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh amid rumours that he will return to the state's ruling party. Few other leaders who defected from the Trinamool Congress to join the BJP have also returned. On Thursday, Sabyasachi Dutta, a two-term mayor of Bidhannagar, rejoined TMC. He joined the BJP in 2019.

With inputs from ANI. 

(IMAGE: ANI)