KOLKATA/MALDA: Five senior Trinamool Congress MLAs who had been denied tickets to seek re-election joined BJP on Monday as part of an exodus that saw Mamata Banerjee’s party also lose a designated candidate and 14 local body members in Malda, giving the saffron camp a majority in a zilla parishad for the first time in Bengal.
The defections, which came a day after PM Modi signalled “game over” for Trinamool at a massive Brigade rally in Kolkata, included the outgoing deputy speaker and Satgachhia MLA Sonali Guha, who used to be CM Mamata’s shadow during her opposition days.
Legislators Rabindranath Bhattacharya (Singur), Jotu Lahiri (Shibpur), Sital Sardar (Sankrail) and Dipendu Biswas (Basirhat Dakshin) also made a beeline for BJP, which has been an open house for disgruntled Trinamool folk ever since Suvendu Adhikari opened the floodgates. The exit of former minister Bhattacharya could tilt the scales against Trinamool in the seat. Lahiri too might make things difficult for his former party in Shibpur.
Trinamool’s first choice for the Habibpur seat in Malda, Sarala Murmu, sprung a nasty surprise on the party by switching to BJP just three days after getting the ticket. Getting a whiff of her plans, Trinamool hurriedly announced a change on Monday morning, fielding Pradip Baskey in Habibpur.
Malda Zilla Parishad sabhadipati Gour Mandal, an Adhikari loyalist and MLA aspirant who missed out on a ticket, led 14 Trinamool members to BJP. Mandal, who wants to contest the Manikchawk seat, made the move after Trinamool gave the ticket to Sabitri Mitra. With nine others crossing from Trinamool to BJP earlier, the saffron party’s tally in the 38-member zilla parishad now stands at 23, three more than the number required for a majority.