Byrne Biswas joined the party in the presence of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

Kolkata:

Kolkata: Byron Biswas, the lone Congress MLA in the West Bengal Assembly, joined the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday. Biswas joined the ruling party in the presence of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee during its mass contact campaign 'Navjowar'. After Biswas, an MLA from Sagardighi constituency in Murshidabad district, joined the TMC, Banerjee said it is for the Congress to decide whether it wants to oppose the ruling party in the state or the BJP at the Centre.

Nearly three months after winning the by-election, Biswas joined the TMC in Ghatal area of Paschim Medinipur district, saying the Congress had "no role in his victory".

"Today, Congress MLA from Sagardighi Byron Biswas joined us in the presence of Abhishek Banerjee during the Jan Sanjog Yatra. We wholeheartedly welcome him into the Trinamool Congress family."

"To strengthen your resolve to fight against the divisive and discriminatory politics of the BJP, you have chosen the right platform. Together, we will win."

Biswas had won the Sagardighi seat on a Congress ticket in a by-election held earlier this year. In this way, the Congress's account was opened in the state assembly, because the party's position was clear in the 2021 assembly elections.

Later at a press conference, Banerjee said with Biswas joining the party, the "unethical alliance of BJP and Congress" for opposing TMC in the state has been defeated.

"We all know about the unethical alliance formed through a silent consensus between the BJP and the Congress in Bengal. With Biswas' joining, this immoral alliance is now lost. The Congress has to decide whom it wants to fight."

"They cannot claim that they are fighting against the BJP at the Centre by opposing the TMC in Bengal. This double standard should be stopped."

Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek also said that "Biswas joined the TMC as he felt it was the only force that could fight against the BJP in Bengal".

Abhishek Banerjee, however, dismissed the charge that the TMC was trying to wipe out the Congress in the state. He also said that several senior Congress leaders and MPs are in touch with the TMC leadership, but the ruling party in Bengal has "closed its doors" for the sake of opposition unity.

"Had the Congress organisation been so strong in Sagardighi assembly constituency, the party would have won the seat in 2021, but that did not happen. I won this seat on my own," he said, adding that the Congress' stand in Bengal was "adverse" to fighting the BJP.

Biswas has joined the TMC at a time when opposition parties against the BJP are trying to forge unity in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

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