Forward Bloc MLA Ali Imran hands over party flag to former BJP leader Deepa Chakraborty in Kolkata on Sunday. (Partha Paul ) Forward Bloc MLA Ali Imran hands over party flag to former BJP leader Deepa Chakraborty in Kolkata on Sunday. (Partha Paul )

WITH ELECTIONS around the corner, 107 members of the BJP on Sunday defected to the All India Yuva League, the youth wing of Forward Bloc. They included BJP’s candidate for KMC polls from Ward 112, Deepa Chakraborty.

Chakraborty claimed she had joined the BJP to oust the Trinamool Congress but now, it seems that BJP and the ruling party had joined hands.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have either joined hands or at least come to an agreement… While at the grassroots level, Trinamool cadres are beating us up, top BJP leaders like Babul Supriyo, Nitin Gadkari and Arun Jaitley are sharing dais and praising Trinamool. It is getting difficult to explain this to our workers,” she told mediapersons. Chakraborty joined Yuva League with 20 supporters from her ward.

This comes two days after central BJP leaders and Union ministers, including Jaitley and Gadkari, praised the state government for its achievements at the Bengal Global Business Summit. Much to the discomfiture of the state BJP unit, they had heaped praises on the Trinamool government, saying the state is moving towards the right path of development and growth.

Ali Imran, MLA and general secretary of the Yuva League, termed the defection as a fitting reply to former BJP state president Rahul Sinha.

“When some of our members had switched over to the BJP, Sinha, at a rally held near Sealdah, had said that Yuva League would cease to exist. Now those, who were attracted to the BJP hoping for a positive change, have realised that promises made by Modi are unachievable dreams. This is why they are returning to Forward Bloc,” Imran said.

“This is real ghar wapsi as opposed to the communal one, preached and practised by the BJP,” he added.

When contacted, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said over the phone that introspection would take place within the party. “I don’t know the exact reason why they shifted from BJP… After I return to Kolkata, I may speak to these members and find out what the bone of contention is. A probable reason is that most of those who had joined BJP from other parties after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, were not given important posts in the party on principle. Their works, however, have been given due credit and importance,” he added.

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