The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) experienced yet another setback in West Bengal on Monday when its tally in the state Assembly dropped to 65 seats. The drop was following the resignation of yet another MLA to join the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).
BJP MLA Tapasi Mondal of the Haldia (SC) constituency of East Midnapore district was in Kolkata to attend the second round of the Budget session that began on Monday.
But after going to the Assembly in the morning, she went to Trinamool Bhavan, the ruling party's state headquarters, and joined the TMC formally. She was greeted by senior Trinamool leader and Power Minister of the state Arup Biswas and was handed over the party flag.
Addressing the media following her change, Mondal said that she made the move because of her unease with what she called the BJP's "divisive politics" in West Bengal.
I could not resonate with the BJP's political ethos. I also find myself impressed by the remarkable developmental projects done by the state government under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's stewardship. My own faith in the unity of the people further persuaded me to separate from the BJP," she told.
Mondal's political career started from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) where she had been a councillor in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Before the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election, she defected to the BJP, according to reports led by Suvendu Adhikari, the current Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. She won the Haldia (SC) seat as a BJP candidate in 2021. But now, only a year before the key 2026 state elections, she has switched loyalties to the TMC.
With her switching sides, the BJP's 294-member West Bengal Assembly strength has fallen from 77 seats it won in 2021 to 65. The TMC, on the other hand, has strengthened its position with its seat tally going up to 228. The All India Secular Front (AISF) still occupies one seat, while the Congress and the CPI-M-led Left Front have no representation in the Assembly.
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