Raiganj MLA Krishna Kalyani (left) with TMC leader Partha Chatterjee in Kolkata on Wednesday. (Express Photo by Partha Paul) BJP MLA Krishna Kalyani on Wednesday became the fifth saffron party legislator since the Assembly polls to switch to the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Kalyani was earlier with the ruling party in the state but joined the BJP before the elections.
The MLA from Raiganj in Uttar Dinajpur quit the saffron party on October 1 saying he could not work for people under the leadership of Raiganj MP and former Union minister Debashree Chaudhuri. He alleged that Chaudhuri had hatched a conspiracy to ensure his defeat in the elections.
On Wednesday, the MLA was inducted into the TMC at Trinamool Bhavan by the party’s secretary-general and state minister Partha Chatterjee who told reporters, “He won the Assembly polls on a BJP ticket. But he has full faith in the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Therefore, he has decided to be a part of the TMC. Today, we are inducting him into the party.”
Hitting out at his former party, Kalyani reiterated that there was a conspiracy in the BJP to defeat him in the state polls.
“There was a conspiracy within the BJP to defeat me in state Assembly polls. Despite working for the people, I was not recognised by the party. I was issued a show-cause notice for speaking against the party. Today, I have rectified my mistake of joining the BJP,” he added.
The MLA went on to say, “There is no atmosphere to work in the BJP. There is only conspiracy. A party cannot win an electoral battle by conspiring against another party. There is a need to usher in development which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is doing. I have been inspired by her work and that’s why I am joining the TMC. She has kept the promises she made before elections.”
Reacting to the development, state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said, “It is his personal decision. However, for a very long time, he was not in touch with the party. He was also not attending party programmes. In future, he will get a befitting reply from the people of Raiganj for his action.”
The BJP won 77 seats in the Assembly polls. However, Nisith Pramanik and Jagannath Sarkar decided to retain their parliamentary seats. Now, with the defection of the five legislators, who have yet to resign from their posts, the saffron party’s effective strength in the Assembly is down to 70. The BJP MLAs apart from Kalyani who are now in the TMC are Mukul Roy, Tanmoy Ghosh, Biswajit Das, and Soumen Roy.
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