Roy had switched parties after the 2021 Assembly polls. He joined the BJP at its office in Kolkata in the presence of Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari.
Speaking to mediapersons, Roy said that he had joined the TMC even after winning on a BJP ticket “under pressure from the ruling dispensation and local administration”. “However, psychologically, I was always with the BJP. The ruling party leadership was not allowing me to work for the people in my constituency, who had elected me. Therefore, I decided to return to the BJP,” said Roy.
Adhikari credited BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ananta Maharaj for convincing Roy to make a comeback. Sources said Roy had been in touch with Adhikari for the past three months.
The TMC accused Roy of joining the BJP “in exchange for money”. “He had joined the TMC despite winning the election on a BJP ticket because he felt that it was an anti-Bengali party. Now, he has returned to the party which is not only anti-Bengali but anti-Bengal as its government at the Centre has imposed an economic embargo on the state. Therefore, we feel that he has joined the saffron camp in exchange of money,” said party’s state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Congress leader Koustav Bagchi resigned from the party on Wednesday, accusing the party high command of seeing “the Trinamool Congress as its West Bengal unit” and being “more interested in forging a friendship with the TMC than strengthening the state party unit”. Speculations are rife that Bagchi is likely to join the BJP ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Bagchi, an advocate, came into the limelight last year after he was arrested by the police for his remarks against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He later shaved his head and said he would remain bald till the TMC government was in power in the state. “He needed an excuse to leave the party. He is maligning the image of the party so that he can jump the ship and join another party. He was also skipping party meetings,” Congress leader Soumya Aich Roy said.
Rajya Sabha MP-elect and BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said the Congress is losing ground across the country, including West Bengal.