BIG JOLT FOR MAMATA, HER COOCH BEHAR MLA JOINS BJP

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee received a major setback when Trinamool Congress MLA from Cooch Behar (south) Assembly constituency, Mihir Goswami, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi on Friday.

“I have resigned from the Trinamool Congress and joined the BJP. I like to call it a crusade against the immoral activities within the Trinamool and the injustice meted out to the people in the north Bengal districts. I look forward to a new political era in Bengal. I hope people of north Bengal would welcome the decision,” Goswami said after joining the BJP.

Goswami had resigned from the Trinamool Congress and quit the primary membership of the party on 3 October. He arrived at the BJP’s central office in Delhi with two party leaders from Bengal—Barrackpore BJP MP Arjun Singh and BJP Lok Sabha member from Cooch Behar Nishith Pramanik.

Senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya officially handed over the party flag to Goswami at the BJP office. “We are really happy to welcome him to the BJP. He is a very senior leader from north Bengal. Goswami will significantly contribute to the expansion of BJP’s organisational base in West Bengal, especially ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections,” Vijayvargiya said.

Meanwhile, state Irrigation and Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari also tendered his resignation as minister from the Mamata Banerjee-led state cabinet on Friday morning. West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar wrote on Twitter that Adhikari’s resignation letter has been sent to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a copy of which was forwarded to the Governor’s office as well.