The Congress MLA from Murshidabad constituency, Mrs Shaoni Singha Roy today joined the Trinamool Congress party in Murshidabad district.
The state transport minister and the TMC observer for Murshidabad, Mr Subhendu Adhikary handed over the party flag to the defected Congress MLA during a party workers’ meeting at Jiaganj municipal town this afternoon.
With this, the state Congress party lost two MLAs in a span of two weeks in Murshidabad district ~ a Congress stronghold and the home turf of Mr Adhir Chowdhury ~ the President of Pradesh Congress Committee. On 8 March this year, another Congress MLA, Mr Apurba Sarkar alias David from Kandi joined the TMC.
The Kandi MLA said that he left Congress because the PCC chief secretly met with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath of BJP.
The Murshidabad MLA, however, explained, she joined TMC because she was humiliated a lot when she was in Congress.
Earlier, Rabiul Alam Chowdhury, who was the Congress MLA from Rejinagar constituency in Murshidabad district, also joined TMC.
In the last Assembly election in 2016, four MLAs ~ Mr Subrata Saha from Sagardighi, Mr Amerul Islam from Samsherganj, Mr Jakir Hossain
from Jangipur and Haji Niyamat Sheikh from Hariharpara ~ were elected on TMC party tickets.
With the three defected Congress MLAs, the TMC now established control in seven Assembly constituencies out of total 22 seats in Murshidabad district.
The rest of the MLAs belong to the Congress and Left parties, who had seat sharing arrangements in the last Assembly polls.
The TMC today held party workers’ meeting as part of its subdivision-level Panchayati Raj conference at Lalbagh.
Mr Rajib Hossain, the brother of TMC’ youth wing leader and the party’s working president, Mr Soumik Hossain, is in charge of party organisation in Lalbagh subdivision.
The chief of Murshidabad district TMC, Mr Subrata Saha addressed the conference saying, “The Murshidabad district is going to be Opposition-free in near future. Here our fight is against the combined forces of CPI-M, Congress and BJP.”
In the run-up to the Panchayat polls, the political equation has changed with the TMC solely pitted against the opposition parties like Congress, CPIM and BJP taken together, said Mr Ashoke Das, the vice-president of Murshidabad district TMC.
“I am here to upset all the calculations of Adhir Chowdhury. He uttered a lot of abusive words against us during a street corner meeting at Behrampore Textile crossing recently.”
“I know how to treat a person who utters non-political, unconstitutional words for a personal attack against our party leader, Mamata Banerjee,” said Mr Subhendu Adhikary. The Congress MLA from Farakka, Mr. Mainul Hoque would be given a lesson for his remarks, warned the state transport minister.
The Jangipur MLA and the minister of state for labour, Mr Jakir Hossain made an appeal to the party to obey leaders and avoid in-fighting.