Days After Trinamool Leaders Switch Camp, 17 Gorkha Janmukti Morcha Councillors Join BJP in Delhi

New Delhi: As many as 17 councillors of the Darjeeling Municipality joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in New Delhi on Saturday.

All the councillors, who were were earlier with the hill-based Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), joined the saffron camp in the presence of senior party leaders Mukul Roy and Kailash Vijayvargiya.

Vijayvargiya said, "Bengal has had a history of political violence and the BJP will end that. The arrogance of the Trinamool Congress will be checked. People from the GJM have also joined BJP. In 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls, we will get 250+ seats. I am certain of it."

He also hit out Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's decision to not attend the Niti Ayog meeting on June 15 and called her behavoiur undemocratic.

Banerjee on Friday expressed her inability to attend the meeting of the policy think-tank on June 15, saying it was "fruitless" as the body had no financial powers to support state plans.

The Lok Sabha election results were a massive setback for Banerjee and her party, who were further left red-faced after Trinamool MLAs and councillors started deserting the ruling camp in Bengal and switched over to the BJP.

On 28 May, BJP leader Mukul Roy’s son Subhrangshu along with two Bengal legislators and more than 50 Trinamool Congress councillors joined the saffron camp.

The Trinamool Congress, which had won 34 seats in 2014, was able to secure 22 constituencies this time.

With the saffron party bagging 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal, its leaders have asserted that they would overthrow the Mamata Banerjee-led government in the next Assembly election.

Meanwhile, Banerjee recently met political strategist Prashant Kishor in Kolkata and held a two-hour meeting. Kishor has reportedly agreed to work with her, said sources.

Kishor is being credited with much of the YSR Congress’ victory with an overwhelming majority in Andhra Pradesh and the humiliating defeat of the N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

With multiple electoral victories to his credit, he hasworked for both the BJP and Congress.

Kishor's first major campaign was in 2011 when he strategised the victory of Narendra Modi in Gujarat for a third term. However, he gained wider attention when he helped Modi and the BJP to victory in the 2014 general elections.

Earlier on Saturday, clashes broke out in South Dinajpur after the BJP took out a victory rally, led by party president Dilip Ghosh.

When police allegedly tried to stop the roadshow, bricks were allegedly hurled at them, following the forces resorted to lathicharge leading to injuries of a few police personnel and BJP workers.

An injured sub-inspector and two civic volunteers were admitted to a nearby hospital.

Ghosh said, “We are meeting people to thank them for voting for us. Police are not allowing us to meet people and Section 144 has been imposed at places. Trinamool workers are attacking us, a few of our supporters and police personnel have been injured.”