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West Bengal: Former Kolkata mayor likely to end political hibernation with BJP roadshow today
Last week Chatterjee and his Banerjee had skipped the BJP roadshow at the last minute, leaving the party red-faced
Former Kolkata mayor Sovan Chatterjee, who defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019, is expected to end his long political hibernation on Monday with a roadshow.
Chatterjee and his associate Baisakhi Banerjee are expected to attend a BJP mega roadshow on Monday in south Kolkata. The former Trinamool Congress (TMC) heavyweight took on the state’s ruling party before making a public appearance after a long time.
“The TMC has become like a short blanket. You try to cover your face and your leg shows. If you try to cover your legs, it falls short and your face comes out. TMC was born on January 1, 1998 after getting a green signal from the BJP. But the leaders who were there in its forming years are now with the BJP,” he said.
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The TMC has hit back saying that till Chatterjee joined the BJP, he was using the same blanket.
“Let’s not forget that he was using the same blanket. Actually, TMC leaders who joined the BJP had to sign a deal with the new party. They have to say whatever the party wants them to say,” said Tapas Roy, TMC spokesperson.
Last week Chatterjee and his Banerjee had skipped the BJP roadshow at the last minute, leaving the party red-faced. Banerjee later said that she had fallen ill. She had initially told mediapersons that she received a call from the BJP office and the caller told her that it was primarily Chatterjee’s show and she need not come. The roadshow was finally led by senior BJP leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya, Mukul Roy and Arjun Singh.
Even though Chatterjee joined the BJP in August 2019, he stayed away from active politics. Even during the fag-end of his tenure in the TMC, he had withdrawn himself from active politics. Monday’s rally is being seen as his comeback after hibernation from active politics of almost three years.
The roadshow will be held from Golpark to Selimpur in south Kolkata.
“We will all attend the roadshow as party workers,” said Banerjee.
