KOLKATA: Tapasi Mondal, the Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP) legislator from Haldia in East Midnapore district on Monday crossed over to the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), saying she needed to be a part of chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s developmental initiatives.
Haldia MLA Tapasi Mondal joined the TMC at its headquarters in Kolkata within the presence of state Energy Minister Aroop Biswas.
Mondal, who received her first meeting election in 2016 when she was within the Communist Get together of India (Marxist), and joined the BJP together with Suvendu Adhikari – now the chief of opposition within the West Bengal meeting at rally in Midnapore city addressed by Union residence minister Amit Shah on December 19, 2020.
Mondal retained the Haldia seat, reserved for the scheduled caste (SC) neighborhood, in 2021 when she contested the state elections on a BJP ticket.
“I could not accept their divisive politics any longer,” she mentioned at an occasion on Monday after receiving a TMC flag from Bengal minister Anoop Biswas.
“People have rejected it because Bengal is a progressive state. As people’s representatives, our only religion is welfare of the masses. That’s what Mamata Banerjee is doing,” Mondal mentioned.
Shyamal Maity, a BJP chief from East Midnapore, additionally joined TMC on the get together’s headquarters in Kolkata.
The BJP received 75 of the state’s 294 meeting seats within the 2021 meeting elections whereas TMC received 215. A number of BJP legislators subsequently joined TMC with out resigning from the get together or the state meeting. The state is because of vote within the first half of 2026.
The final BJP MLA to change camps was Harakali Protiher from Bankura district’s Katulpur constituency. Pratihar, who was beforehand within the TMC, introduced his return to the get together at an occasion within the presence of TMC nationwide common secretary Abhishek Banerjee in October 2023.
Requested about Monday’s improvement, Adhikari refused to touch upon Mondal accusing the BJP of “divisive politics” however predicted her defeat within the 2026 elections. “We will defeat her by 50,000 votes no matter where she contests from. Several of them have left but that does not make any difference. Can they come to the assembly and say on record that they are TMC legislators?” Adhikari mentioned.
The BJP received 18 of Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats within the 2019 common elections however this quantity got here down within the 2025 nationwide elections to 16 Lok Sabha seats.