TMC MLAs hint at a probable defection by Arjun Singh before 2024 LS polls
Times of India | 1 January 2024
KOLKATA: The rift in Barrackpore Trinamool Congress continued to widen even after the intervention of the party’s state president Subrata Bakshi. Jagatdal MLA Somnath Shyam and Bijpur MLA Subodh Adhikary on Sunday hinted at a possible defection by Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh.
"The Arjun has been talking about both the Kauravas and Pandavas in the same breath.Nobody knows which branch he will choose in 2024. We will have to keep a close watch on his movements," Adhikary said. Addressing a rally at Kaugachhi in North 24 Parganas, Adhikary said, "Arjun had been saying that he has a number of arrows in his quiver. He has also been talking to both sides. TMC workers will have to be careful about him."
Barrackpore TMC witnessed allegations and counter allegations since the murder of Vicky Yadav a month back. Singh had pointed fingers at Shyam’s possible involvement in the murder. The rift gradually widened and Bakshi had to step in for mediation. However, Shyam did not turn up on the day scheduled for the meeting. "Mamata Banerjee is the only leader in West Bengal and those who switched sides (Arjun Singh joined the BJP and won on a BJP ticket in 2019), should have remembered that. However, they failed to identify the only face behind Bengal's development even in 2021. But they joined hands with the BJP and murdered our workers," he said.
Alleging that Singh’s return to the TMC was to serve his own vested interest, Shyam said, "TMC workers are being murdered even now and it has to stop. Those who are trying to harm the party while in the party’s shelter need to be identified. The murderers are not leaving any clue, but we are keeping an eye on their activities. I have demanded a reinvestigation into Gopal Majumdar’s murder," Shyam said.
"I am a soldier of the TMC and the party will respond to such allegations," Singh said.
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