After Arjun Singh rejoined the All India Trinamool Congress, speculation is rife in political circles that many fence sitters may rock the BJP boat in the state and jump onto the TMC bandwagon sooner than later. While deserting the saffron party, the former president of West Bengal BJP and MP from Barrackpore, Arjun Singh, accused the Bengal BJP of not allowing him a free hand, although he was a senior leader of the party. He also criticised the jute policy of the Central government. Interestingly, Singh had deserted the TMC for the BJP before 2019 parliamentary elections and riding piggyback on the unstoppable BJP juggernaut won the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat.
Singh was in Vadodara barely three days ago, where Prime Minister Na
rendra Modi had addressed a youth camp. Singh has joined the likes of Mukul Roy, Joy Prakash Majumder, Soumen Roy and Rajiv-Sabyasachi, who have deserted the BJP after TMC rode back to power in a high-pitched bitterly fought election battle in 2021. The desertions that began immediately after Mamata Banerjee was sworn-in as Chief Minister for the fourth term have resulted in the number of BJP MLAs reducing from 77 to 71.
With Singh joining the TMC, say sources, many fence sitters are waiting to join the TMC. And the list is long. The first casualty in the BJP camp would be Singh’s MLA son Pawan Singh, who may soon follow in his father’s footsteps. Rumours are rife about BJP leaders like Locket Chatterjee of Hooghly, Soumitra Khan of Bishnupur, and Khagen Murmu of Malda North joining the TMC.
Even Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari may join the Trinamool Congress, says the political grapevine, with his father Shishir Adhikari and brother Divyendu Adhikari in tow. The situation since Suvendu Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram in the last Assembly elections has changed a lot, say political observers. If a top Trinamool leader is to be believed, BJP MPs and many MLAs have already started communicating with the ruling Trinamool in Bengal, and the party may witness more desertions.
When many of these leaders had deserted the TMC to join the BJP, the saffron leadership had elevated them to an enviable status in the party organisation. But with TMC coming back to power and also winning the bypolls held last year, the saffron party has lost its moorings in the state as it is unable to keep its flock together.
