The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) hold in the West Bengal region had gone frail with an assembly count of 73 members. On Monday, BJP MLA Tanmay Ghosh, who achieved the Bishnupur seat in Bankura district after the announcement of the March-April polls, now resigned from the former and joined the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Meanwhile, there has been no release of an official statement by Ghosh about his resignation from the assembly, there may be the application of the anti-defection law against him. The education minister Bratya Basu, who admitted him to the party, however, averred, “Everything will be done according to rules.”
Ghosh said that “I invite people’s representatives from all parties to join the TMC and be a part of the mammoth development and social welfare projects taken up by Mamata Banerjee. Her dedication and performance drew me towards the TMC.”
This act of abandonment by the opposition MLA arrives after the results of the poll earlier this year wherein the BJP grabbed 77 seats. Just like Ghosh, Mukul Roy, a BJP national vice-president, joined TMC on June 11. However, an exception sustains when a legislator from Krishnanagar North has not submitted his resignation to the BJP yet and now serves as the chairman of the assembly’s public accounts committee. Following this, BJP has appealed for his exclusion under the anti-defection law.
“The BJP has no base at the grassroots level in Bengal. Everything is superficial. It could have never won 200 seats. The leaders were only making loud noises. Those who won did so because of their own strength and charisma,” Ghosh averred. Reciprocating on Ghosh’s allegations on the party, Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, Ghosh’s absence will make no difference to the BJP and the party will seek action against him under the anti-defection law. “Not all people are capable of handling the pressure Opposition leaders have to face. Ghosh gave in. He came from the TMC before the polls. This has no significance for us,” added Bhattacharya.