New Delhi: BJP leader Mukul Roy on Saturday claimed that 107 legislators from the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) will soon join the saffron party in West Bengal.
“One hundred and seven West Bengal MLAs from CPM, Congress and TMC will join the BJP. We have their list prepared and they are in contact with us,” Roy was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
However, he did not mention when the MLAs will switch over.
In a significant political development, at least 63 TMC councillors from Bhatpara, Halisahar, Naihati and Kanchrapara municipalities had joined the BJP in May, days after the results of the Lok Sabha elections were announced. All the four constituencies are part of the North 24-Parganas region.
While eight TMC councillors joined BJP in Bhatpara of North 24-Parganas, three MLAs and more than 50 councillors joined in New Delhi in front of Roy, Anil Baluni and Kailash Vijayvargiya.
Last month, a TMC legislator and 15 other councillors of the party also joined the BJP.
Roy's son, Subhrangshu, who was suspended from the TMC on account of "anti-party activities", had also joined the BJP.
The BJP had for the first time won 18 of 42 seats in the state, with over 40% vote share in the Lok Sabha elections. In 2014, Mamata Banerjee’s TMC had won 34 seats, with the number plunging to 22 this time.
Roy, who himself is a TMC turncoat, joined the BJP in 2017 after a fallout with Banerjee. He has played a crucial role in bringing in several leaders from the TMC to the BJP.
With the 2021 Assembly election in mind, BJP national general secretary and West Bengal in-charge, Kailash Vijayvargiya, had earlier said the party would target 250 seats in the state assembly.
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