Kolkata, 19 February (H.S.)

Vishnu Prasad Sharma, BJP MLA from Kurseong in the Darjeeling hill region of North Bengal, joined the Trinamool Congress on Thursday. He formally joined the ruling party at Trinamool Bhavan in Kolkata. Ministers Shashi Panja and Bratya Basu were present on the occasion.

Vishnu Prasad Sharma had been disgruntled with the BJP for the past two years and had publicly spoken out against it several times. He even contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate to protest the renomination of Raju Bista from the Darjeeling seat. Since then, his distance from the party has steadily increased.

Despite his differences with the BJP, he remained in touch with the state's Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari. During his illness, Suvendu Adhikari even personally assisted with his treatment. At that time, Suvendu had said that Vishnu Prasad Sharma might be dissatisfied with the party, but he would not join Trinamool. However, he has now disproved this speculation by joining Trinamool.

His joining Trinamool just before the Rajya Sabha elections next month is being considered a blow to the BJP. His departure has reduced the number of BJP MLAs in the state assembly to 64. In Rajya Sabha elections, MPs are elected based on the votes of MLAs, which could increase the BJP's concerns.

Vishnu Prasad Sharma has long been a supporter of a separate Gorkhaland state. He used to tell those close to him that the BJP betrayed him on the Gorkhaland issue.

According to sources, for the past year, he had not even visited the BJP's party office in the assembly and had maintained a distance from party events. During the assembly session, he would sit with BJP MLAs, but did not participate in any events.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey