Defectors in Bengal desert BJP to return to mother organisation

KOLKATA: A number of political party leaders who had defected from their organisations and joined the BJP in Bengal after Narendra Modi's government came to power in May last year, are now finding it difficult to work with the saffron party. Unable to adjust themselves with the BJP, many of these leaders have already abandoned the party and returned to their mother organisation.

BJP state president Rahul Sinha has admitted this, but refused to explain why those who had defected from different parties to join them were quitting the BJP now.“We are having our Chintan Shibir now and I shall talk to you about this later,“ Sinha told ET.

Anirban Chowdhury was the general secretary of All India Youth League (AIYL), youth wing of the Left party, Forward Bloc.Chowdhury had left the organisation a few months back and joined the BJP. Unable to adjust himself with the saffron brigade, Chowdhury has recently left BJP and returned to his mother organisation, AIYL.

Hridaya Ghosh, a prominent Trinamool Congress leader of Birbhum district, had defected from the ruling party and joined the BJP. Like Chowdhury, Ghosh had also failed to adjust himself with the BJP and left the party and returned to Trinamool Congress.Ghosh's homecoming is very significant. His father Sagar Ghosh was also a prominent Trinamool Congress leader of Parui village in Birbhum district.

But Sagar was murdered during 2013 panchayat elections after he refused to withdraw his nomination against the official Trinamool Congress candidate during the rural polls. Sagar's son Hridaya had lodged complaint with the police and held some ruling party leaders responsible for the killing of his father.

The killing of Sagar Ghosh had a tremendous impact on Bengal politics for a pretty long time and Parui, his native village grabbed headlines of the media as Trinamool Congress and BJP activists used to clash each other almost everyday. Sagar's son Hridaya left Trinamool Congress and joined the BJP and the saffron party had managed to strengthen their organisation at Parui as well as the entire Birbhum district following his joining. But very recently Hridaya left B JP and returned to his mother party Trinamool Congress.

The case of Manjul Krishna Thakur is much more interesting.Thakur was a minister of Mamata Banerjee's government.

But he left the ruling party before by-elections to one Lok Sabha and one Assembly seat which took place in February this year.Manjul's son Subrata had contested the Bongaon Lok Sabha on a BJP ticket and lost to Trinamool Congress.

Recently, Manjul has written a letter to Mamata Banerjee and requested her to take him back in the ruling party. “I made a mistake in my life by joining the BJP. Anyone can make a mistake. I want a chance to rectify my mistake. I repent it wholeheartedly,“ Thakur has written to Mamata who is yet to take him back in Trinamool Congress.