KOLKATA: BJP’s Haldia MLA Tapasi Mondal, a close associate of Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, joined the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday.Mondal’s defection dealt a strong blow to the BJP in Purba Medinipur, Adhikari’s stronghold where the port town of Haldia is located.She joined the TMC at its headquarters in Kolkata in the presence of state Power Minister Aroop Biswas.”I decided to be a part of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s developmental initiatives. The BJP is trying to flare up communal tensions in the state. It is pursuing divisive politics, and the people of this state have repeatedly rejected it. It was getting tough for me to accept such politics,” she said after switching sides.In a post on X, the TMC said, “Welcoming BJP’s Haldia MLA Tapasi Mondal to the Trinamool Congress family! Her decision to join us is a testament to the growing disillusionment with BJP’s politics. Under the leadership of Smt.@MamataOfficial, she will work tirelessly for the people’s welfare.” Mondal won the Haldia seat as a Congress-supported CPI(M) candidate in the 2016 assembly polls.She joined the BJP along with Adhikari in December 2020 just months ahead of the 2021 assembly elections.She successfully retained the Haldia seat in 2021 on a BJP ticket.Commenting on Mondal’s defection, Adhikari said, “People will reject such political opportunists. Not a single BJP worker has joined the TMC along with her.” The TMC is seeing this defection as a major breach in Adhikari’s Purba Medinipur fort ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.However, Mondal is not the first BJP lawmaker to join the TMC.After the BJP won 77 seats in the 294-member assembly in the 2021 elections, its 12 MLAs joined the TMC.Two BJP MPs also joined the TMC.However, Barrackpore’s Arjun Singh returned to the BJP after he was denied a ticket by the TMC in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.Some of these 12 legislators did not resign as BJP MLAs, while a few had given up their memberships of the assembly to force bypolls in their seats and return to the House after winning them.It was understood that Bishnupur MLA Tanmay Ghosh, who was among these 12 MLAs, played a key role in Mondal’s defection.He connected her with the TMC leadership, including the party supremo.
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