The Bengal BJP continued to poach the Opposition, clinching erstwhile Trinamool Congress strongman and MLA Arjun Singh as the latest pick even as senior saffron leader Mukul Roy went on record saying “this was a picture and trailer follows.”
Singh, a fourth-time MLA enjoys a substantial clout in the Bhatpara-Barrackpore labour belt comprising largely of migrant labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Though the BJP leaders would not comment much on Singh’s political future apart from the Thursday’s floor crossing, insiders said he was definitely going to be fielded against TMC veteran and former Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi who had already been nominated from the Barrackpore parliamentary constituency.
Even as BJP’s Bengal observer Kailash Vijaybargiya echoed Roy’s “trailer-picture” observation saying, “there is no full stop or coma to what you see today. Such things will continue in the coming days,” senior State Minister Firhad Hakim cursed Singh for playing the traitor.
“He is a traitor, a man of questionable conduct. Even last evening he was here in Mamata Banerjee’s house saying he was with the party and would follow the party discipline and today he is there. Soon he will see the real face of the BJP,” Hakim said.
The Chief Minister had earlier in a circuitous reference to Singh had said “there are some greedy people who want more and more. I have already set them free. It hardly matters whether they stay or go from the party.” Singh is the fifth turncoat in the past few weeks to join the BJP. He follows Khagen Murmu a CPI(M) MLA from Malda, Dulal Chandra Bhar a Congress MLA from North 24 Parganas, Birbhum MP Anupam Hajra and his Bishnupur colleague Soumitra Khan who had already joined the saffron party and were likely to land tickets.
Reacting to the continued floor-crossing by the TMC leaders, another senior Min said “these are the people who have gone there with the lust for ticket. The BJP cannot find candidate for even half of the 42 seats which is why they are delaying the announcement of their list.”