The Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee seems to be crumbling just weeks ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha polls as another TMC MP, Anupam Hazra has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party today.
According to reports, Congress MLA Dulal Chandra Bar and CPM MLA Khagen Murmu have also joined the BJP.
Delhi: Congress MLA Dulal Chandra Bar (pic 1) and CPM MLA Khagen Murmu (pic 2) also join BJP along with TMC MP Anupam Hazra. pic.twitter.com/0Lne6Bsjzj
— ANI (@ANI) March 12, 2019
According to reports, two sitting MLAs will also join BJP along with Bolpur MP Anupam Hazra. Hazra is set to quit the party after accusing the TMC of blatant corruption and for prevailing anarchy in the state.
Anupam Hazra, a former professor at Visva-Bharati University was earlier penalised by the TMC after he had shared several posts on social media voicing against his party members. Following this, Hazra was warned by the TMC and in January he was expelled from the party for anti-party activities.
Recently, Saumitra Khan, another Trinamool Congress MP had quit the party to join the Bharatiya Janata Party. Saumitra Khan, who is the MP from Bishnupur is likely to contest from the same seat on a BJP ticket in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Reportedly, there are speculations that Congress leader Deepa Dasmunshi, wife of late Congress leader Priya Ranjan Das Munshi may join the BJP too and contest the Lok Sabha polls as Congress party has decided to not field her as a candidate against Raigunj MP Mohammad Salim of the CPI-M.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress has been under tremendous pressure as BJP has seen a lot of traction across the state of West Bengal. Even more of a concerning for her is that the BJP has its eye set to win at least 23 seats from Bengal and is looking to make huge gains in the Mamata’s own backyard.
Earlier, BJP leader and former TMC leader Mukul Roy had claimed that at least 5 more MPs were in touch with him and wanted to join the BJP ahead of the general elections. There have been reports that many TMC cadres are willing to join the BJP in huge numbers. The BJP was also reported to be making gains in erstwhile Maoist bastions and tribal areas in the state.
Mamata Banerjee certainly has been feeling the pressure and has been forced to play the BJP’s game. With the entry of the BJP in the state, the losses to Mamata are considerably high as Mamata Banerjee will not only be losing the political hegemony to the BJP which she enjoyed in the state for a long time but may also result into good political outcome for the BJP in the Lok Sabha. Further, Mamata Banerjee’s ambitions to head the opposition alliance will certainly be at stake if she is unable to get the relatively higher number of seats compared to the other regional parties.
