In another big blow to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, another local strongman and Nowpara MLA Sunil Singh has joined the BJP, reports ANI.

Delhi: TMC Nowpara MLA Sunil Singh and 12 TMC Councillors join BJP in presence of BJP leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya and Mukul Roy. pic.twitter.com/rnRz77gjUd — ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2019

According to reports, Sunil Singh had flown to New Delhi on Sunday along with 12 Trinamool councillors of the Garulia municipality. Sunil Singh is also the chairman of Garulia municipality. Sunil Singh will join the BJP with the 12 councillors at the BJP headquarters on Monday in the presence of BJP West Bengal in-charge Kailash Vijayvargiya and senior BJP leader Mukul Roy.

TMC Nowpara MLA Sunil Singh along with 12 councillors will join BJP today in Delhi. He says, “Public in West Bengal wants ‘Sab ka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. In Delhi, there is Modi ji’s govt & we want the same govt to be formed in the state. So that we can develop West Bengal.” pic.twitter.com/XicORCHlZM — ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2019

Sunil Singh joining the BJP was on the cards after his brother-in-law Arjun Singh, who was earlier a Trinamool MLA of Bhatpara and chairman of the Bhatpara municipality, had also left the party to become a BJP MP. Arjun Singh was given BJP ticket from Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency.

Reportedly, the Garulia municipality has 21 councillors, out of which 19 were from the TMC. As 12 TMC members have decided to join the BJP, the municipality will fall into the hands of the BJP, which already has a majority in Bhatpara and Darjeeling civic bodies.

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The trouble for Mamata Banerjee began after her party lost space to the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as the latter had won 18 seats, increasing its tally from just 2 seats in 2014 elections. Soon after the elections, the MLAs, senior TMC functionaries began to join hands with the BJP. TMC’s Bijpur MLA Shubhranshu Roy joined the party with a Congress and a CPM MLA last month.

Another TMC lawmaker Manirul Islam had also joined the saffron party in presence of BJP leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya and Mukul Roy recently. Along with Manirul Islam, president of TMC’s youth wing Gadadhar Hazra, the secretary of the same unit Mohammad Asif Iqbal and TMC leader Nimai Das also switched sides to join the BJP.

BJP also took control over three municipalities after the councillors joined the BJP. The municipalities are, Kanchrapara, Halisahara and Naihati.