Former TMC MLA from Cooch Behar Mihir Goswami, who had expressed his desire to quit the party, on Friday 27 November, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He did so in the presence of senior leaders of the party, at the party headquarters.
BJP’s official Twitter handle also tweeted about his shift to their party, along with a photograph from the ceremony.
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The move comes on a day when party heavyweight and West Bengal Transport Minister in the ruling Trinamool Congress Suvendu Adhikari resigned from his position earlier on Friday.
Goswami, who had alleged that Mamata Banerjee wasn’t in control of the party any longer, had lashed out against strategist Prashant Kishore who was roped in by Trinamul after 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Two days after senior TMC leader Rabindranath Ghosh visited him at his residence, Goswami, MLA from Coochbehar (Dakshin) on Thursday said it will be difficult for him to continue his association with the party, as he won’t be able to put up with more humiliation.
According to the New18 report, the TMC MLA from Coochbehar Dakshin, who met BJP MP Pramanik in October fuelling speculation over his future course of action, said on various occasions he had “digested insults”, but continued to stick to the party because of his allegiance to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Goswami, who had remained non-committal over his plans for long, said in a Facebook post in Bengali on Thursday, ”It seems to be tough for me to remain within the Trinamool (Congress) with which I have been associated for 22 years.” The TMC had made several attempts to woo him back in the last few days.
According to a Hindustan Times report, Goswami wrote, “This is no longer Didi’s party. She is aloof. That is why Didi’s men are no longer required. If you have to stay, you have to be a ‘yes man’ or else, leave,” wrote Goswami.
Expressing anguish for not receiving a phone call from Banerjee in six weeks, he wrote, “My party is no longer in the hands of my leader. This can no longer be my party.”
Ever since BJP’s Cooch Behar Lok Sabha MP, Nisith Pramanik, met Goswami at his residence after Durga Puja, speculations have been rife that he might join the saffron camp. “I am giving everything a deep thought,” Goswami said on Tuesday, when asked whether he would leave the TMC.
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