In what could buttress the argument that Mamata Banerjee is gradually reclaiming her lost ground in Bengal, former Kolkata Mayor and Bengal Minister Sovan Chatterjee, who crossed over to the BJP a few months ago, suddenly surfaced at the Chief Minister’s residence on Tuesday to celebrate Bhai Phonta (Bhai Dooj) — a festival where the sister prays for brother’s safety after applying tilak (a sectarial mark on the forehead).
Though there was no comment from either the Chief Minister or Chatterjee, sources in the Trinamool Congress said “it is a prelude to Sovan babu’s ghar wapsi (homecoming).”
A whole lot of senior Bengal Ministers including Firhad Hakim, Partho Chatterjee, Arup Biswas were present at the Chief Minister’s residence when Chatterjee visited her house giving rise to speculations that his homecoming was a matter of time.
Chatterjee, who had founded the TMC in 1998 along with Mukul Roy, Subroto Mukherjee and other leaders, had left the party last August following differences with the Chief Minister. Though he was a permanent invitee at Banerjee’s residence on Bhai Phonta for the past two decades Chatterjee had skipped the celebrations last year for obvious reasons.
Incidentally the BJP has lost at least five civic bodies to the TMC in the past few months during which the TMC councilors had joined the saffron outfit but subsequently returned to the BJP.
When asked to comment on his sudden appearance at the Chief Minister’s residence, Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said “nothing much should be read into the incident as it is a social ceremony and every brother has a right to visit the sister during such occasions. I don’t find a political underpinning. Having said that I should also remind that Sovan da had offered to join the BJP early this year and we welcomed him ... He is a senior politician and will take his decisions accordingly.”