Kolkata: Arjun Singh, the former West Bengal BJP vice-president, quit the party today and joined the Trinamool Congress. Mr Singh was welcomed into Trinamool by the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee at his office in South Kolkata. The move comes days after he slammed the party’s state leadership for not allowing him to work properly.
Warmly welcoming former Vice President of @BJP4Bengal and MP from Barrackpore, Shri @ArjunsinghWB into the All India Trinamool Congress family.
He joins us today in the presence of our National General Secretary Shri @abhishekaitc. pic.twitter.com/UuOB9yp9Xo
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) May 22, 2022
Mr Singh’s was miffed over the Centre withdrawing the notification capping jute prices at ₹ 6,500 per quintal, a demand he and other industry stakeholders have been pressing for in the last few weeks.
Sources also informed that Mr Singh had recently travelled to Delhi to meet the BJP’s top brass over faction fighting in the state unit of the BJP while also raising the jute mill issue.
Mr Singh, MP of Barrackpore, has been in talks with the Trinamool Congress for the last six months. The BJP’s made several unsuccessful efforts to placate him, sources said.
Arjun Singh had quit Trinamool ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls after the party gave the ticket from Barrackpore seat to Dinesh Trivedi. He defeated Mr Trivedi, who had been a two-term MP from the seat. Mr Singh’s son Pawan Singh is a BJP MLA from Bhatpara, and could follow in his father’s footsteps.
Arjun Singh is the second Lok Sabha MP after Babul Supriyo to quit the BJP in West Bengal. Mr Supriyo is now a Trinamool MLA from Ballygunge after winning the recent bye-elections in the constituency after the death of veteran Trinamool leader Subrata Mukherjee.
