Congress MP Mausam Benazir Noor joins Trinamool

In a setback to the Congress in West Bengal, the party's Lok Sabha MP Mausam Benazir Noor on Monday joined the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress. "Didi (Mamata) has inspired me to join Trinamool. I will work under her. We saw the leadership of opposition parties came here at the January 19 rally to support her to fight the BJP. She is our face," Noor told reporters.

Noor, a second term Congress MP from Malda North, is a niece of late party stalwart Gani Khan Chowdhury. Asked whether Congress MP Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury will also join Trinamool, Noor said: "I came here to meet her (Mamata Banerjee) alone. More people from Malda will join and they believe in Didi because people in the district were taken care of well in the recent floods."

"We will win 42 seats from Bengal and as a Bengali I want to see her as Prime Minister," Noor said. Reacting, Banerjee said: "Noor has spoken her heart. We will fight together, and our aim is to remove the BJP and save the country."

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Noor has been asked to take charge of Trinamool's campaign in the north Bengal districts.