Former West Bengal minister Rajib Banerjee on Sunday returned to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) after a nine-month stint with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Expressing regret over his decision to join the BJP ahead of the assembly elections, Banerjee joined the ruling party in the presence of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee at a party rally in Agartala.
“I am repentant now. I am ashamed that I did not listen to Abhishek Banerjee who tried to talk me out of my decision to join the BJP. There was a misunderstanding and I got carried away. I was made to believe that the BJP would usher in development and progress. I do not want people to make the same mistake and regret. I have many friends and relatives in Tripura. Every time they heard me talking about the success of the BJP, they called me to say how they are suffering in their (BJP) regime,” he told the crowd.
Referring to chief minister Mamata Banerjee as “goddess” and “our mother”, Banerjee said: “I failed to recognise her. She has transformed Bengal. BJP ruled-states are copying her social welfare schemes.”
On January 22, the former forest minister resigned from the Mamata Banerjee-led Cabinet just before the crucial March-April assembly elections. On January 29, he drew much attention when he carried home a large photograph of the chief minister while vacating his chamber at the state assembly. He also broke down after tendering his resignation as minister to governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.
{{/usCountry}}On January 22, the former forest minister resigned from the Mamata Banerjee-led Cabinet just before the crucial March-April assembly elections. On January 29, he drew much attention when he carried home a large photograph of the chief minister while vacating his chamber at the state assembly. He also broke down after tendering his resignation as minister to governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.
{{/usCountry}}A day later, he, along with four other rebel TMC legislators, joined the BJP in presence of Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi.
The TMC, however, swept to power for the third time by winning 213 out of the 292 seats in the elections. Banerjee also lost the Domjur assembly seat in Howrah, which he had earlier won twice since 2011, when the TMC first came to power.
Banerjee, who had been maintaining silence and distance from the BJP since his poll loss, was inducted in the national executive committee of the BJP on October 5. While this appeared like an attempt by the national leadership to retain him in the party, the action triggered strong resentment in the BJP’s Bengal unit.
The former BJP MLA, however, was not welcomed by a few TMC leaders, especially those with whom he had differences in the past.
“I don’t know why he was brought back after Abhishek Banerjee said in public that there is no place for traitors in the TMC,” Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee said.
Reacting to Banerjee’s latest move, BJP chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said: “BJP leaders and workers in Bengal stopped thinking about Rajib Banerjee a long time ago. He is not a subject of discussion for us.”
“It was known for a long time that Banerjee was trying to find a way to return to the TMC. Our party inducted TMC leaders randomly and gave them star treatment. This disillusioned old and dedicated BJP workers,” BJP national secretary, Anupam Hazra, who is also a former TMC Lok Sabha member, said.