resigned from all party posts +

recently met senior BJP leaders and RSS chief +

NEW DELHI: Former Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy on Friday joined the BJP, in the presence of Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya "Without BJP, the Trinamool Congress could not have established itself. In the near future, BJP will clinch power in West Bengal," said Roy at the press conference where the announcement was made.Roy claimed that people in the state want an alternative to chief minister Mamata Banerjee . In fact, the self-confessed "organisational man" appeared confident that "in the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 and Assembly elections in 2021 the BJP will win Bengal."Prasad echoed similar sentiments, saying that with "veteran political leader" Roy's entry into the saffron party, the BJP will do "great things" in West Bengal. He stressed that the former TMC leader had expressed his desire to join the BJP "without any conditions."Roy later told journalists that "restoring democracy" in West Bengal will be his priority, reported PTI."I will work for restoration of democracy in Bengal, that will be my first task. I am a national level politician, I will try to see that people in Bengal can at least vote according to their choice. If people can cast their votes in panchayat polls, the BJP will wrest power from the TMC in least in five zila parishads," he said.The party is likely to task him with driving its growth in the eastern state, where it has been traditionally weak. However, his role in the organisation is not yet clear."His role will be decided," BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, who is the party's in-charge for the state, said.Roy was once Banerjee's right-hand man and TMC's chief election manager. However, he recently fell out with her and in early October,and also gave up his membership of the Rajya Sabha.But he had not specified his future course of action at the time.West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee had referred to his resignation as "good riddance".Roy had Mohan Bhagwat during the latter's visit to Kolkata.However, not all BJP leaders in West Bengal are happy with the announcement. They believe that Roy is a "tainted" leader facing probes for his alleged links to the Saradha and Narada scams."BJP will no more be able to make it an issue. People in Bengal will no more take us seriously after a tainted leader like Roy, who is facing charges under Narada and Saradha scams, has been inducted into the BJP. People will criticise BJP on its stand on corruption," said one leader.When asked about the corruption allegations against him, Roy said the law will take its own course.