Trinamool Congress MLA Jitendra Tiwari quits party, joins BJP

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) faced another exodus ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections after two-time party MLA from Pandabeswar in Paschim Barddhaman district and former Asansol mayor, Jitendra Tiwari quit the party and joined Bhartiya Janata Party.

It needs to be mentioned here that Tiwari was one among several other leaders who wished to join the saffron party in December 2020, however, the BJP declined to induct him. He later apologized to the TMC party and withdrew his resignation from the party and the post.

Today he was formally inducted to the saffron party in the presence of party state chief Dilip Ghosh at a programme in Sreerampur in Hooghly district.

Tiwari was quoted as saying that he had joined the BJP to work for the development of the state which was not possible to do in TMC.

In the run-up to the polls, the TMC has witnessed a massive exodus after several leaders have joined the BJP. The exodus was initiated by TMC-turned-BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who was the first to quit the party.

Reportedly, 19 MLAs have switched to BJP. Earlier, in February the BJP decided to put a halt on "mass joinings" of leaders from the TMC, as it doesn't want to become the B team of the ruling party.

Ahead of the assembly election the BJP and TMC are giving a tuff fight to each other in an effort to grab power in the state.

The West Bengal Assembly with 294 seats will go to the polls from March 27- April 29 with the counting of votes on May 2. The Election Commission's decision to hold West Bengal state elections in eight phases is considered to be the longest ever.

Meanwhile a PIL has been filed at the Supreme Court by Lawyer Manohar Lal Sharma questioning the February 26 decision of the poll panel declaring eight-phase polling in West Bengal as against three phases in Assam, and a single phase in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry.

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