Forward Bloc MLA Udayan Guha joins TMC

Udayan Guha who joined Trinamool Congress after quitting his mother party.

Mamata herself has announced Guha's joining after her return from Delhi. Taking Guha by her side, Mamata told reporters at the city airport that “Guha has joined us today and he will function as the secretary of our party.He is a good organiser and he will contest the same Dinhata Assembly seat next time too.“ Guha was elected from Dinhata seat in Cooch Behar district during 2011 Assembly elections as a Forward Bloc candidate. But in the recent past, he was very critical about functioning of the Bloc leadership. He has left all positions in the party and informed the state Bloc secretary Ashok Ghosh in writing about his decision to quit all posts in the party.

Guha is the second sitting Bloc MLA who left the party. Sunil Mondal, another Bloc MLA from Galsi Assembly seat in Burdwan district had left the party and joined Trinamool Congress last year. Bloc was the second largest Left constituent which won 11 seats during 2011 Assembly elections. But now the party has nine MLAs in the state legislature as two of them have left the organisation and joined Trinamool Congress.

Udayan's father Kamal Guha was a popular Bloc leader in Cooch Behar district and had helped the party to strengthen its mass base in the district which remained a Bloc stronghold since 2011. Kamal Guha himself was a Bloc MLA from the same Dinhata Assembly seat in the district and was agriculture minister of the previous Left Front government. After Kamal's death, Udayan had contested the seat on a Bloc ticket and managed to retain the seat in 2011 when Mamata Banerjee ousted the CPM-led government from power in Bengal.