'Party lacks direction': Sankar Malakar quits Congress, joins TMC in Darjeeling KOLKATA: Two-term Matigara-Naxalbari MLA and Congress veteran Sankar Malakar defected to Trinamool on Wednesday, saying that CM Mamata Banerjee-led TMC was the only party in Bengal fighting BJP's communal politics. Malakar, who headed Congress in Darjeeling for 20 years, is the second high-profile opposition leader from north Bengal to join TMC ahead of the assembly polls. Former Union minister John Barla left BJP to join TMC last month. Like Barla, Malakar wields significant influence in north Bengal's SC/ST pockets.Flanked by TMC state president Subrata Bakshi and state power minister Aroop Biswas (the party's north Bengal minder), the 70-year-old Malakar told reporters: "Since 2014, when BJP came to office in Centre, the saffron party has been trying to tempt the people of north Bengal with promises of Kamtapur and Gorkhaland. BJP says that north Bengal should split. It deceives the region's simple people."On his decision to sever his decades-old Congress ties, Malakar said, "Congress today lacks direction and local connect in Bengal. As someone who has worked in grassroots for decades, I could no longer ignore the growing discontent." Malakar won the Matigara-Naxalbari seat in 2011 and 2016. However, his 45% plus vote share in 2011 and 2016 dipped below 10% in 2021, with BJP comfortably winning the seat. In 2019, Malakar had contested the Lok Sabha polls from Darjeeling but lost to BJP's Raju Bista.PollShould political parties focus on regional issues like Kamtapur and Gorkhaland?Yes, they are important for local identity.No, national issues should take precedence.Pre-empting his switch, Bengal Congress expelled Malakar, with party president Subhankar Sarkar swiftly reorganising the district unit. Subin Bhowmik was named Darjeeling coordinator, with Amitabha Sarkar, Jiban Majumdar and Alokesh Chakraborty as co-coordinators. Malakar, meanwhile, claimed that he had submitted his resignation to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge via email and WhatsApp.Malakar hinted that, following his lead, other local Congress workers will also defect to TMC. "The chairman of the Sevadal, the president of Chhatra Parishad, and many others have come with me. We are confident that in the coming days, we will defeat BJP in Matigara. I was an (AICC) North Bengal observer for 15 years. I know no one can match Mamata Banerjee's development work... Today, Congress has three percent of the vote. This vote is not enough to defeat anyone," he claimed.Biswas said: "Our party leadership will take decisions about the work he (Malakar) will be assigned. As foot soldiers, we cannot comment. However, we are not asking anyone to join TMC. We are not breaking any party. However, there's some swing and more wickets like this will come."