Jolt for BJP in Bengal as two MLA's set to rejoin TMC

Kolkata: BJP suffers setback in West Bengal as two MLA's set to rejoin Trinamool Congress.

BJP Lok Sabha MP and former West Bengal BJP Vice-President, Arjun Singh on Sunday rejoined TMC in the presence of the party's general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata. Singh said that he had switched over to the BJP in 2019 after misunderstandings with Trinamool leadership.

His son Pawan Kumar Singh, who is currently the BJP legislator Bhatpara Assembly constituency, is also all set to follow in his father's footsteps.

In all probability, Pawan Kumar Singh is expected to join the ruling party camp at a mega rally of the Trinamool Congress on May 30 at Shyamnagar in North 24 Parganas. Although there has been no confirmation from Pawan Kumar Singh on this count, his father confirmed his son's joining the ruling party.

With this, the BJP's tally in West Bengal Assembly is now all set to come down to below 70.

To recall, in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, the BJP got 77 legislators. But immediately after that two of its MLAs -- namely Nishith Pramanik and Dr Jagannath Sarkar -- who were also sitting Lok Sabha members, resigned as MLAs to retain their Parliamentary chairs, thus bringing down the tally immediately to 75.

After then five sitting BJP legislators joined Trinamool Congress one after another to bring down the tally to the existing figure of 70. Now if Pawan Kumar Singh follows the same example, the tally will come down to 69.

Arjun Singh was a four- time Trinamool Congress MLA from the Bhatpara Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas district from 2011 to 2019.