Former Trinamool Congress MLA Jitendra Tiwari on Tuesday, 2 March, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of the party’s West Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh.
"I have joined the BJP as I want to work for the development of the state. In TMC, it was no longer possible to work for the party," Tiwari said after joining the BJP, according to PTI.
The development comes ahead of Assembly polls in the state, which will be held in eight phases between 27 March and 29 April.
Spat With BJP’s Babul Supriyo
On 17 December, Tiwari, former mayor of Asansol, tendered his resignation but a day later announced a reversal, deciding to stay in Mamata Banerjee's party.
The sudden U-turn had come after Asansol BJP MP Babul Supriyo opposed Tiwari’s entry into the party. He posted a video on his Facebook account where he dismissed ‘rumours’ alleging that Tiwari had an ‘under-the-table’ dealing with Supriyo. He further added that he will “try his best to not let any Trinamool leader, who tormented and tortured his party workers in Asansol, enter the BJP.”
In July 2019, Tiwari and Supriyo had a public spat. Tiwari had lodged a complaint against Supriyo after clashes broke out between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress workers in the area. Tiwari had then accused Supriyo of provoking BJP ‘hooligans’ to disrupt a TMC blood donation camp that was organised in Asansol.
Tiwari had earlier also resigned from the post of chairman, Board of Administrators, Asansol Municipal Corporation.
He had accused the state government of not letting the city receive funds to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore from the Centre under the ‘Smart City’ project because of political reasons.
(With inputs from PTI)
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