In a setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its national executive member from West Bengal Rajib Banerjee and sitting MLA in Tripura Ashis Das on Sunday, 31 October, joined the Trinamool Congress during a mega rally, which was addressed by the party's national General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
Rajib Banerjee, a former minister in West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Cabinet had defected to the BJP in January this year. After rejoining the Trinamool, he said that it was his mistake to join the BJP, which according to him gave false promises to the people to gain political and electoral mileage.
"I apologise to Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee and all the people for joining the BJP. I am ashamed and feel guilty to join the BJP. Whatever responsibility the party (Trinamool) gives me, I with all sincerity perform the task," an emotionally charged Banerjee told the gathering.
Ashis Das, a Scheduled Caste leader and a BJP MLA from the Surma Assembly seat in northern Tripura, took the Trinamool flag from Abhishek Banerjee along with Rajib Banerjee.
While praising Mamata Banerjee and slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ashis Das, on 5 October in Kolkata had claimed that people in Tripura have been suffering a lot after the BJP-led government came to power.
The 43-year-old BJP legislator (Das), after shaving his head and performing a 'yagna' at the Kalighat temple in Kolkata on October 6, said that political anarchy and chaos were prevailing in the BJP-ruled Tripura where people are unhappy with the performance of the state government.
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