Kolkata: Ending weeks' worth of speculation, the miffed leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), who were slated to defect to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's rally in West Bengal, are visiting Delhi today and will join the saffron camp right at the national capital.
On a special chartered flight sent by Amit Shah, the TMC defectors -- Rajib Banerjee, Baishali Dalmiya, Prabir Ghoshal, Rathin Chakraborty, five-term civic chief of Ranaghat Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, along with Bengali actor Rudranil Ghosh -- flew for Delhi along with BJP West Bengal observer Kailash Vijaywargiya and BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy.
Before boarding the flight, former West Bengal forest minister Rajib Banerjee said that he will keep a host of requests in front of the Union Home Minister so that he can continue working for the common people of West Bengal.
“Though the ruling Trinamool Congress had worked for the people initially but later people were restricted to their work. I will first talk with Amit Shah and will tell him my plans and also continue working for the people,” mentioned Banerjee, while expressing his sadness on quitting the Trinamool Congress.
Claiming that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is a ‘nice person’, Uttarpara MLA Prabir Ghoshal claimed that the people surrounding the chief minister are, however, not so good themselves.
“My terms with the TMC supremo go back for many years. But people surrounding her are not good for which I had to defect. The people of West Bengal want another change and if the Centre and the state are ruled by the same political party, then it will be beneficial for West Bengal,” claimed Prabir.
According to BJP sources, another Tollywood actor -- Hiron Chatterjee, who was the general secretary of the TMC youth wing -- is also likely to defect to the BJP on Sunday.
West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh claimed that there will be more ‘surprises’ at every public meeting of the Union Home Minister.
Notably, Shah had to cancel his two-day-visit to West Bengal, owing to law and order problem in the national capital.
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