Blow after blow for Mamata Banerjee ahead of Bengal polls as five former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders were flown in to New Delhi on Saturday to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah where they officially joined the BJP.
Shah was scheduled to spend the weekend in Kolkata and participate in a rally at Howrah where the five ex TMC leaders were supposed to join his party. He however canceled his visit and drew up an alternative plan.
The cavalry includes Trinamool MLA from Bali, Baishali Dalmiya, Uttarpara MLA Prabir Ghoshal, Howrah mayor Rathin Chakraborty, former MLA and five-term civic chief of Ranaghat Partha Sarathi Chatterjee and former Forest Minister Rajib Banerjee.
"Former TMC leaders Mr. Rajib Banerjee, Ms. Baishali Dalmiya, Mr. Prabir Ghoshal, Mr. Rathin Chakraborti and Mr. Rudranil Ghosh joined BJP today in New Delhi. I am sure their induction will further strengthen BJP's fight for Sonar Bangla," Shah tweeted with a photo of them together.
"Mr Amit Shah called me up and said he would like to handover the flag to me himself, so he is sending down a chartered plane to fly me to the capital," said Rajib Banerjee, former Forest Minister of West Bengal, who resigned from Trinamool yesterday.
The mega rally on Sunday at Howrah will go on as planned but Shah is likely to join only virtually. Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani will be present along with other state leaders.
