Days after the Trinamool Congress leadership claimed that some of the BJP MPs were in touch with the party, Bengal saffron MP Soumitra Khan conceded that Bankura district leaders of the TMC were indeed in his touch and were asking him to join the outfit.
On whether he would switch sides to the TMC, he said that there was no immediate reason for doing so adding quickly that he had a desire to become a Union Minister.
As reports wafted in that only two names from Bengal Shantanu Thakur and Sukanta Majumdar were doing the rounds for ministerial berth, Khan said that he was the senior most of the Bengal BJP MPs having won for three consecutive time.
“I am the senior most BJP MP from Bengal and have won three times … also I was an MLA … so I deserve a ministerial berth because that will help me reach out to the people in a bigger way and help the party improve its organization before the Assembly elections,” he said.
A former Trinamool MLA, Khan had won the Bishnupur parliamentary seat in 2009 for the first time on a TMC ticket. Later he switched sides to BJP. Apart from him there were two more MPs — one from North Bengal — who was not happy with the way they were being dealt with in the party, inside sources said adding the supporters of one of these MPs had already joined the TMC. “Some panchayat members have joined the TMC because they want to work and be with the people,” sources close to that MP said adding he would however wait and see whether his party’s behavior towards him was improving or not.
A third saffron MP too said on request of anonymity that it was becoming impossible to protect the lower-rung party workers from TMC attack. “They want us to join them … it is being difficult to protect them from the TMC… the workers who worked hard for me all these months are today under attack and it is my duty to save them … I want the senior leaders to intervene or else it will be very difficult for me preserve the party in my area without joining the TMC,” he said alleging in a number of BJP workers were being attacked by the TMC and had to be shifted to the party offices in the relevant district towns. A ministerial berth would help him tackle the situation.
