NEW DELHI: In the latest exodus, a Trinamool Congress legislator and 15 councillors of the party in West Bengal joined the BJP on Monday. Noapara MLA Sunil Singh, along with the 15 TMC councillors and another Congress councillor, joined the BJP in the presence of general secretary and West Bengal in charge Kailash Vijayvargiya, and senior leader Mukul Roy.
Sunil Singh is a relative of MP Arjun Singh, who switched over from the TMC to the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and won from Barrackpore. A beaming Roy said 10 legislators from various parties had joined the BJP, so far.
Leaders, including MLAs and MPs, from various parties in the eastern state, have been joining the BJP for past several months. “The BJP has emerged as a strong player in Bengal politics and is the first preference for those who want peace and development in the state,” Vijayvargiya said. The senior BJP leader alleged that under the leadership of Trinamool boss and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, democracy had vanished from the state.