In a major embarrassment for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a tribal couple who had recently hosted party chief Amit Shah for lunch on Wednesday joined West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress.
The couple – Raju and Geeta Mahali – joined the TMC on their own will said Trinamool's Darjeeling district President and state Tourism Minister Gautam Deb after allegations by the state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh alleged that the couple was forced.
During the first leg of his 'Vistar Yatra' to expand the BJP's base, Shah had lunch at the house of tribal daily wager Raju Mahali who makes a living by painting apartments.
Shah was seen sitting on the floor of the couple’s house in Dakkhin Katiajote village in West Bengal's Naxalbari block and was served vegetarian fare on a banana leaf.
(With inputs from agencies)