BJP MP from Barrackpore in West Bengal, Arjun Singh, who had left the Trinamool Congress ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, returned to his original party on Sunday.
Singh accepted the TMC membership in the presence of party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata, who welcomed him by saying that Singh has rejected the “divisive forces” (BJP).
“Extending a warm welcome to Shri @ArjunsinghWB, who rejected the divisive forces at @BJP4India and joined the @AITCofficial family today. People across the nation are suffering and they need us now more than ever. Let’s keep the fight alive,” Banerjee tweeted.
“Warmly welcoming former Vice President of @BJP4Bengal and MP from Barrackpore, Shri @Arjun
singhWB into the All India Trinamool Congress family. He joins us today in the presence of our National General Secretary @abhishekaitc,” TMC tweeted welcoming Singh into the party.
Hours before joining the TMC, Singh addressed a media conference at his home Mazdoor Bhaban and said: “I have been from the birthplace of the Trinamool. Mamata Banerjee is the last word of the grassroots and she will decide who will say what and who will do what. I don’t know if any leader will accept it. But the soil of Barrackpore, people are with me.”
Expressing disappointment with the working of the BJP, the disgruntled MP said that it had shortcomings in some states, including Bengal and Kerala.
“I kept my opinion in front of BJP chief J.P. Nadda and he said that he’d think about it. BJP has shortcomings in Bengal and Kerala and it’s upon the party as a whole how it’ll tackle them. Being an MP, I can’t look into them on an individual level,” Singh said.
His recent criticism of the Central government’s policy on the plight of the jute industry had sparked speculation about his defection. Top BJP leaders held several meetings to bring Singh into the fold.
Singh said that he would have a discussion on the issue with the state government. “Issues related to jute come under the Centre but some of them come under West Bengal government officials as well. I’ll be going to have a discussion with them on this matter, today,” the Barrackpore MP said.
He also said that in Bengal the BJP was a party limited to Facebook.
“Politics can’t be done while sitting in AC rooms (on BJP’s West Bengal unit), we have to get down to the ground to do politics. We have lost many of our friends. We worked on the ground and defeated CPIM. Politics in Bengal could not be done through Facebook while sitting in an AC room. This is why their graph is declining day by day,” he said while speaking to the media after joining the party.
“BJP is an organisation limited to Facebook. There is inconvenience working in the party. Lots of people want to join the party, if there is a clearance from here, the names will be revealed,” Singh added.