Two TMC MLAs who joined BJP meet Mamata, fuel speculation

Two TMC MLAs who joined the BJPmet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday, fuellingspeculation about their next political move.

Bongaon MLA Biswajit Das and Noapara MLA Sunil Singhmet Banerjee at her chamber in the assembly.

The two legislators claimed that they met the chiefminister regarding development works in their constituencies,both of which are in the North 24 Parganas district.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh discarded anypolitical motive behind the meeting, saying that they hadgiven prior information to the party about it.

''Nothing should be read into it. As MLAs they canalways meet the chief minister to discuss development issuesin their constituencies,'' he said.

Das and Singh had crossed over to the BJP followingthe 2019 Lok Sabha elections but did not quit as TMC MLAs.

Following the meeting, the two MLAs said that thechief minister assured them to look into the issues theyraised.

The Trinamool Congress did not comment on thedevelopment.

Since the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, 18 MLAs and an MP ofthe Trinamool Congress, three MLAs each of the Congress andthe CPI(M), and one of the CPI have joined the BJP.

However, except former ministers Suvendu Adhikari andRajib Banerjee none of them resigned as MLAs.

Elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly arelikely to be held in April-May.