Babul Supriyo claims 5 BJP MLAs may quit saffron party

Babul Supriyo. File Pic

Former union minister and Trinamool Congress leader Babul Supriyo, who joined TMC three months back, on Sunday took a swipe at his former party predicting five disgruntled saffron party MLAs who quit the BJP West Bengal's MLA WhatsApp group, may now sever their links with the party.

However, one of the five MLAs Ambica Roy on Sunday expressed his desire to rejoin the WhatsApp group stating he had made a mistake and wished to "remain a loyal soldier of BJP." Supriyo, however, tweeted in Bengali, "one wicket after another is falling in BJP. Five more gone today. Shiv Babu (national General Secretary Shiv Prakash who had overseen BJP campaign before assembly polls) must have gone to Mount Kailash by now (euphuism for retirement). If you want to find Bengali crabs who will pull you from behind go to Muralidhar lane (the address of the state BJP)."

The five MLAs - Mukutmoni Adhikari (Ranaghat South), Subrata Thakur (Gaighata), Ambica Roy (Kalyani), Asok Kirtania (Bongaon North), and Asim Sarkar (Haringhata) - from the politically powerful Matua community had apparently left the WhatsApp group disgruntled over being left out various committees formed by the BJP state party unit.

BJP state President Sukanta Majumdar said "none of the five MLAs will be left out. We will accommodate them in new committees. They have to be a little more patient." Majumdar didn't want to attach much importance to Supriyo's tweet on the MLAs leaving the saffron party.

The Matua community constitutes a large chunk of the state's Scheduled Caste population. It has considerable clout in at least four Lok Sabha seats and 30-40 assembly seats in Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas districts. Earlier, former BJP state general secretary Sayantan Basu had exited a WhatsApp group of the party, after being axed from the state committee.

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