South Dinajpur, 25 March (H.S.):

Ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress is facing fresh setbacks in North Bengal, with members from both the ruling party and Left parties joining the BJP.

According to sources, around 35 families from the Bolla gram panchayat area in Tapan Assembly constituency and nearly 20 individuals from Balurghat town switched allegiance to the BJP. The trend follows recent high-profile defections, including former TMC MLA Arghya Roy and influential Rajbanshi leader Banshibadan Barman, adding momentum to the BJP’s campaign in the region.

The joining programme was held at the BJP district office in Balurghat on Wednesday, where Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar handed over party flags to the new entrants. Several BJP leaders, including district president Swarup Chowdhury and Tapan candidate Budhrai Tudu, were present.

New entrants alleged that they had not received any benefits while being with the TMC and expressed hope for better opportunities under the BJP. They also cited development initiatives under Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a reason for joining the party.

However, TMC candidate Chintamani Biya dismissed the claims, stating that no party workers had defected and termed the development a pre-election “stunt.” No immediate reaction was available from the Left parties.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey