Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MPs Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and Prakash Chik Baraik joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kolkata on Thursday, marking another significant political shift in West Bengal after the BJP's victory in the recent Assembly elections.
The three leaders, who resigned from the Rajya Sabha and quit the TMC in June following the party's electoral defeat, were inducted into the BJP by state president Samik Bhattacharya at the party's Salt Lake headquarters. The BJP also announced that all three would contest the July 24 Rajya Sabha bypolls from the very seats they had vacated.
Sharp attacks on TMC as BJP eyes all three seats
While formally welcoming the leaders into the party, Bhattacharya said they had joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP to contribute to nation-building. Responding to questions over his earlier stand against inducting TMC leaders, he clarified that the move was an "exception", asserting that the BJP's doors remained closed to "tainted and corrupt" TMC leaders.
Sukhendu Sekhar Roy launched a scathing attack on his former party, claiming West Bengal had declined under successive Left Front and TMC governments. Referring to the RG Kar hospital incident, he alleged that the Trinamool Congress had failed to understand public sentiment and declared that the party was "finished".
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Sushmita Dev, who joined the TMC from the Congress in 2021, accused her former party of institutionalised corruption.
"What I witnessed in the TMC is widespread corruption even at the grassroots level. This level of corruption is not seen in any other party," she said.
Prakash Chik Baraik did not address the gathering.
The Election Commission announced the Rajya Sabha bypolls earlier this week after the three leaders resigned from the Upper House. The BJP, which currently enjoys a commanding majority in the 294-member West Bengal Assembly with 207 MLAs, is expected to comfortably secure all three seats.
The political equations in the state have also changed significantly following the split in the TMC. Of the party's 80 MLAs elected in April, around 65 have joined the rival camp led by Ritabrata Banerjee, while only a small group continues to back former chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The split has weakened the opposition's ability to contest the Rajya Sabha bypolls, paving the way for the BJP to expand its representation in the Upper House from West Bengal.
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