Will join BJP with another Trinamool leader, says Arjun Singh

Kolkata, March 14 (IANS) Rebel Trinamool Congress leader and sitting Lok Sabha member from Barrackpore Assembly constituency in West Bengal, Arjun Singh on Thursday confirmed that he is rejoining the BJP soon along with another heavyweight Trinamool Congress leader.

He, however, did not disclose the name of the Trinamool Congress leader and also declined to confirm whether that rejoining will be in West Bengal or at New Delhi. “You will come to know about it at the right time,” Singh said.

Arjun Singh joined the BJP from Trinamool Congress before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and got elected as a BJP candidate from Barrackpore. However, in 2022 he rejoined Trinamool Congress though he officially remained a BJP Lok Sabha member as per Parliament records since he did not resign from the chair.

After his name did not figure in the list of Trinamool Congress candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, he turned rebel and hinted of severing ties with the ruling party in the state. However, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Wednesday downplayed this and said that Singh’s rebellion will not matter since he was officially with the BJP.

Reacting to that observation by the Chief Minister, Arjun Singh on Thursday said if the party leadership thought that he was officially with BJP then why was he allowed to be on the dais of the mega rally in Kolkata last Sunday where from the candidates’ list was announced.

“I was there at the Brigade Parade Ground rally from beginning to end. Now it is being said that I was officially with the BJP. This defines the real state of affairs in the party,” Singh said on Thursday.

Earlier, Singh also admitted that his return to Trinamool Congress in 2022 was a wrong decision. “I was promised that I will be re-nominated from Barrackpore,” he said.

–IANS

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