In a major setback to the BJP in West Bengal, Lok Sabha MP and party's state vice-president Arjun Singh joined the Trinamool Congress on Sunday. Singh was welcomed into the party by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee at his office in south Kolkata.
The development assumes significance as it comes closely on the heels of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the state.
"Warmly welcoming former Vice President of @BJP4Bengal and MP from Barrackpore, Shri @ArjunsinghWB into the All India Trinamool Congress family. He joins us today in the presence of our National General Secretary Shri @abhishekaitc," the TMC said on its official Twitter handle.
Singh had recently launched a scathing attack on the BJP state leadership for “not allowing him to work properly”. He had also alleged that dedicated workers were not given their due recognition in the BJP.
"I met our national president J.P. Nadda Ji recently and told him about the situation in the state BJP. Dedicated workers are not given their due recognition. Despite being the state vice-president, I am not allowed to work properly," he had said.
Singh had met Nadda in New Delhi last week. He was summoned by the BJP top brass after he voiced his reservations against the way of functioning of the party's state unit.
Singh had earlier alleged that leaders having no touch with ground-level workers and active only on social media were getting prominence in the state BJP.
One of the prominent Hindi-speaking leaders in West Bengal, Singh had quit the TMC and joined the saffron camp just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 and went on to win from the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat.
The state BJP unit had been fighting hard to keep its flock together after former union minister Babul Supriyo and five legislators, including its national vice president Mukul Roy, switched over to the TMC, following the party's drubbing in Assembly polls.