Arjun Singh, vying for the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat under the BJP banner in West Bengal, paid a visit to the convalescent Trinamool Congress (TMC) stalwart Mukul Roy on Friday, seeking his blessings for the upcoming polls.
Roy, grappling with dementia and Parkinson's disease, has withdrawn from active political involvement and currently holds no official position within the party.
Singh, having recently defected from TMC to rejoin BJP, a party he had aligned with prior to the 2019 elections after departing from the state's ruling party, expressed his esteem for Roy, prompting his visit to seek the veteran's well-wishes for the electoral contest.
Having shared political ties in the past, Singh conveyed his regards to Roy, who reciprocated with blessings and wishes for Singh's electoral fortunes.
"I sought his blessings for the polls," confirmed Singh.
Roy's political trajectory includes roles as the railway minister and Minister of State in the Shipping Ministry during the second UPA government, during which TMC was an integral part.
Having parted ways with TMC in 2017 due to ideological differences, Roy briefly joined the BJP before returning to the fold of the ruling party in the state in 2021.
In another show of respect, Singh also visited Tarit Baran Topdar, former CPI(M) MP of Barrackpore, acknowledging his contributions to the development of the Barrackpore constituency.
TMC contender for the seat, Partha Bhowmick, similarly paid a visit to Topdar, who wielded considerable influence as a politician in the jute industrial belt.
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