Kolkata: The BJP continues to count its gains in West Bengal.
On Thursday, former Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MPs Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Prakash Chik Baraik joined the saffron party at the party’s Salt Lake office in Kolkata.
State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya formally inducted the trio into the party, which had stormed into power for the first time in West Bengal two months ago, ending TMC and Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year rule.
Samik welcomed the three ex-TMC Parliamentarians by saying that their experience will further strengthen the BJP in the state.
Sukhendu, Sushmita and Prakash had all resigned from the Rajya Sabha and quit TMC last month. Sukhendu and Prakash’s terms were due to run till September 2029, while Sushmita’s tenure was to continue till April 2030.
All three are expected to be fielded by BJP for the three Rajya Sabha bypolls from the state, scheduled on July 24. And all of them should win, given the battle for survival TMC is facing. As many as 65 of the 80 MLAs broke ranks with Mamata and Abhishek, claiming their group to be the real TMC.
As for Lok Sabha, 20 of the 28 TMC MPs have deserted the party and pledged support for the NDA government after joining to unheard of National Citizens Party of India.
Sukhendu, seniormost of the trio, said there was an “atmosphere of fear and terror” in West Bengal and he feared being assassinated after speaking out in the RG Kar junior doctor’s rape and murder case in August 2024.
“There are 800 MPs in the country. Out of those 800, I was the only one to publicly demand that, given how evidence regarding the RG Kar incident was being tampered with, the Police Commissioner and the Principal of the institution should be arrested and questioned. No one else had the courage to say that,” Sukhendu said.
“I was summoned to Lalbazar (polive headquarters) twice in a single day via notices. I submitted a medical certificate; I never said I wouldn’t go. But I was very ill. I sent my medical records, yet they were disregarded. I had to approach the Calcutta High Court… Even after that, for three or four consecutive months, I kept receiving threats on my phone that I would be killed and that my daughter and granddaughter would be kidnapped… I could have resigned back then, but I feared they might hire contract killers to assassinate me, given how over 400 BJP workers and supporters had been killed in Bengal. It was an atmosphere of fear and terror,” he recalled.
