Former Union Minister and BJP leader from North Bengal, John Barla, officially joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday, ending months of speculation about his political future. He was welcomed into West Bengal’s ruling party at the TMC headquarters in Kolkata by state president Subrata Bakshi and minister Aroop Biswas.
#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal | Former BJP leader John Barla, who also served as Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, joins Trinamool Congress pic.twitter.com/uOaDYJqYiT
— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2025
Barla, the former Alipurduars MP, distanced himself from the BJP after being denied a ticket in the last Lok Sabha elections. This had sparked early rumours of a defection. He even travelled to Delhi to meet BJP leaders but remained largely inactive in politics for a while.
Talk of his exit from the BJP resurfaced a few months ago when Barla publicly expressed interest in working with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, should the opportunity arise. His appearance alongside her at a rally in Kalchini, Alipurduar district, in January further fuelled the speculation.
VIDEO | On ex-party MP John Barla joining TMC, BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya (@SamikBJP) says, "During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he (John Barla) was busy in scoring a goal against his own side. Despite this, Manoj Tigga won from the Alipurduars constituency. He was an ex-BJP… pic.twitter.com/bbsCWsaAP1
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 15, 2025
Speaking to the media after joining the TMC, Barla thanked the chief minister and called it a major opportunity to serve his community. “Discussions had been ongoing for the past six to seven months,” he said.
The former minister of state for minority affairs then went on to attack BJP leader and West Bengal Leader of Oppositon (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari, saying that he could not fulfil his promise of setting up a hospital for Adivasis due to Adhikari.
“I had proposed building a hospital for the Adivasi community, with an estimated cost of Rs 160 crore. However, Suvendu Adhikari blocked the project,” Barla said. “Suvendu Adhikari created hurdles in my work and stalled the hospital project. He even called the ministry to have the work stopped,” he added.
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He then claimed that although the BJP won the Alipurduars Lok Sabha seat in 2019 and 2024 and six out of the seven assembly segments in the 2021 state elections, the party did nothing for Adivasis and tea garden communities there. Instead, he praised CM Banerjee for her welfare initiatives, citing the ‘Cha Sundari’ housing scheme and distribution of land rights (patta) distribution.
He said, “The BJP won with the support of tea garden workers, but didn’t give even an inch of land. In contrast, Didi has given five decimals of land. We have finally received land in the tea gardens.”
With assembly elections scheduled for next year, Barla’s defection is expected to significantly strengthen the TMC in Alipurduar district and the tea garden regions of North Bengal, areas where the BJP has enjoyed an electoral advantage in recent polls.
Additionally, with CM Banerjee set to visit North Bengal next week, TMC workers and local party members will feel more energised and motivated to bolster the party’s prospects in the region.
