New boat-jumpers from TMC, including Rajeeb Banerjee, joined BJP, in the run-up to the West Bengal election 2021 as the weekend tour of Amit Shah to the state of West-Bengal stood cancelled.

Six Trinamul turncoats, including former minister Rajib Banerjee, joined the BJP at Amit Shah’s residence in Delhi late on Saturday after they took a chartered flight to the capital on the Union home minister’s “orders”.

“We have been handed over the BJP flag and formally inducted into the party by Amit Shah,” said Rajeeb Banerjee. The others who joined the BJP with him were expelled Trinamul MLA Baishali Dalmia, former mayor of Howrah-Rathin Chakraborty, MLA Prabir Ghoshal, former chairman of Ranaghat municipality-Parthasarathi Chattopadhyay and actor Rudranil Ghosh.

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Amit Shah added, “I am sure their induction will further strengthen the BJP’s fight for Sonar Bangla.”  BJP leader and a former member of TMC, Mukul Roy, along with his colleague Kailash Vijayvargiya were also present along with the turncoats.

Not giving much importance to the joining, Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told a regional news channel, “It will not hamper the Trinamool at all. I just request all the turncoats to contest elections from their present constituencies only in the elections and do not switch to other seats.”

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BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy and the party’s Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya had accompanied five of the six inductees in the special flight to Delhi. Actor Ghosh did not take the flight to Delhi but was present at Shah’s home.

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These inductions were to be held in Shah’s presence at a rally in Dumurjola on Sunday but he had to cancel his weekend Bengal visit on Friday. “Shah will address the rally at Dumurjola virtually,” Dalmia said outside Shah’s residence.