Rajib Banerjee returns to TMC, regrets 9-month tryst with BJP

On Sunday, Rajib Banerjee referred to Mamata Banerjee as a “goddess” and “our mother” and stated that he had failed to recognise her

Ending his 9-month tryst with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former Trinamool Congress minister Rajib Banerjee on Sunday returned to the TMC at party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s rally in Agartala, telling Tripura residents that he was regretful.

Several state office bearers of the BJP told HT that they were shocked and surprised by the national leadership’s decision to induct Banerjee in the national executive committee. (PTI Photo)

“I am repentant. I am ashamed that I did not listen to Abhishek Banerjee who tried to talk me out of my decision to join the BJP. 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 talk about the success of the BJP they called me to say they were suffering in the BJP regime,” Banerjee told the crowd.

Abhishek Banerjee handed the party flag to Banerjee after the two embraced each other on the dais.

On January 30, days after he resigned from the state cabinet and the TMC, Rajib Banerjee drew attention and envy when he and a team of turncoat legislators under his leadership were flown to Delhi in a chartered plane so that they could join the BJP at the residence of Union home minister Amit Shah. The special privilege, which no other TMC leader has enjoyed till now, made bigger news than his shift in allegiance which was anticipated.

Banerjee, who had been maintaining silence and also distance from the saffron camp since the TMC returned to power in Bengal for the third time in the March-April polls, was inducted in the national executive committee of the BJP on October 5. While this looked like the national leadership’s effort to keep Banerjee in the party, the action triggered strong resentment in the BJP’s Bengal unit.

Several state office bearers told HT that they were shocked and surprised by the national leadership’s decision because Banerjee not only criticised the BJP’s opposition to Mamata Banerjee but distanced himself from the party after his defeat at the Domjur assembly seat in Howrah. Banerjee had won the seat twice since 2011 when the TMC came to power for the first time.

Banerjee drew media attention when he carried home a large photograph of Mamata Banerjee while vacating his chamber at the state assembly. He even broke down after tendering his resignation as minister to governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.

On Sunday, he referred to Mamata Banerjee as “goddess” and “our mother.” “I failed to recognise her. She has transformed Bengal. BJP ruled-states are copying her social welfare schemes,” he said.

“BJP leaders and workers in Bengal stopped thinking about Rajib Banerjee long time ago. He is not a subject of discussion for us,” Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said on Sunday.