Ahead of the West Bengal Assembly election 2021, former Trinamool Congress leaders Rajib Banerjee and Baishali Dalmiya joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi. This news was confirmed by party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, news agency PTI reported.

Banerjee and MLAs Prabir Ghosal and Baishali Dalmiya, who was recently expelled from the TMC, and former Howrah Mayor Rathin Chakraborty, reached Delhi on a special plane and met Home Minister Amit Shah.

After joining BJP, Rajib told ANI, “I have told the Home Minister (Shah) that the people of West Bengal are suffering from hopelessness. The law and order situation needs to be improved in the state. Industries need to be set up so that the youth can have employment.”

“After I resigned from the TMC, I received a call from the BJP leadership…..Amit Shah ji told me to come over to Delhi. If I get assurances regarding the state’s development, I will join the party,” Rajib had earlier said.

“I want to work for the people. So whatever role is assigned to me, I will accept,” he said.

The ruling TMC in West Bengal was rocked by a fresh bout of desertions on Friday with Rajib Banerjee quitting the party and several other leaders rallying behind him.

To date, Suvendu Adhikari, Soumendu Adhikari, Silbhadra Datta, and Rajib Banerjee quit the party.   

Meanwhile, TMC MLA from Uttarpara, Prabir Ghoshal, resigned from two-party posts, but said he will continue to be MLA “keeping in mind the needs of people.”

MLA Jitendra Tiwari also resigned from the post of chairman of the administrative board of the Asansol Municipal Corporation last month but said he would not resign from the MLA post.

Leader Kabirul Islam resigned from the post of General Secretary of the party’s minority cell.