New Delhi: Soon after former Congress leader Ashok Tanwar joined TMC, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said she will now go to Haryana. “I want to go to Haryana. I’ll go there as soon as Ashok Tanwar (who joined TMC today) invites me. Defeating BJP is our top priority… Jai Hindustan, Jai Haryana, Jai Bangla, Jai Goa. Ram Ram!,” she said.

In a series of events, Congress leaders Kirti Azad and Ashok Tanwar joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) earlier in the day. Both the leaders were welcomed to the TMC by Mamata Banerjee at her official residence in New Delhi.

“Today there is only one leader that can defeat BJP. Mamata Banerjee defeated them in Bengal. Like farmers made this government bow down to their demands, I think the opposition also needs to come together and defeat BJP in 2024,” Ashok Tanwar said after joining TMC.

On the other hand, Kirti Azad, who joined the TMC, said he will work under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and will start working on the field. Besides Azad, former JDU general secretary Pavan Varma also joined the TMC.

“I’ll work under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and I’ll start working on the field. The BJP’s politics is divisive and we will fight it. Today, a personality like her is needed in the country who can show it the right direction,” Azad said after joining.

Varma, a former advisor to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, was expelled from the ruling JD(U) in 2020. He was an MP until July 2016. He was also the national general secretary and spokesperson of the party.

“Looking at the current political circumstances and the potential in Mamata Banerjee, I have today joined TMC,” said Varma.

A member of the 1983 cricket World Cup-winning squad, Azad was suspended from the BJP for openly targeting the then Union finance minister Arun Jaitley over alleged irregularities and corruption in the Delhi and District Cricket Association in December 2015. He joined the Congress in 2018.

Ashok Tanwar, who was once considered close to senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, was an MP from Sirsa during 2009-2014 and also the president of the party’s Haryana unit. He quit the Congress days before the Haryana Assembly elections in October 2019. He launched his own party, Apna Bharat Morcha, in February this year.

(With inputs from agencies)