Kolkata: Bayron Biswas, the lone Congress MLA in the West Bengal assembly, has joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC). In March, Biswas won the Sagardighi bypoll in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district. The Congress had scored a zero in the 2021 assembly elections.
Biswas took the Trinamool flag from the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee at Ghatal during the TMC’s ‘Naba joyar’ political programme Monday.
Today, during the ongoing #JonoSanjogYatra in the presence of Shri @abhishekaitc, INC MLA from Sagardighi Bayron Biswas joined us. We wholeheartedly welcome him to the Trinamool Congress family!
To strengthen your resolve to fight against the divisive and discriminatory… pic.twitter.com/CyCaUKTyRs
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) May 29, 2023
“I didn’t win the Sagardighi bypoll because of the Congress. I have been a Trinamool worker. I didn’t get a ticket from the party, so I sought a ticket from the Congress,” said Biswas after joining the TMC.
“I couldn’t work within the Congress. To fight the BJP, I joined the TMC today. It is the only party that can fight them. If I stand for election again, I will win with a larger margin,” he added.
Abhishek Banerjee claimed Biswas had touched base with the TMC before the byelection, but the party hadn’t reacted immediately.
He said he had reached out to the party’s second-in-command several times during the TMC’s ongoing campaign for the 2023 panchayat polls.
‘Not a seasoned Congress politician’
A beedi baron, Biswas was backed by the Left in his nomination from Sagardighi. He defeated the TMC’s Debashish Banerjee, a distant relative of CM Mamata Banerjee, by 22,986 votes.
The victory was seen as a big boost for the Congress-Left alliance in West Bengal, which has been trying to emerge as a TMC challenger ahead of the panchayat polls.
Sagardighi, where the Muslim community comprises 64 per cent of the voteshare, is a Congress stronghold under West Bengal party chief and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who upheld the “Sagardighi model” shortly after the victory as the template to defeat the TMC.
The Sagardighi result was seen as a setback for the TMC, as it was the first bypoll the party lost since returning to power for a third consecutive term.
Days later, Mamata Banerjee took over the minority affairs and madrasah education department after removing minister Ghulam Rabbani.
Speaking to ThePrint, Chowdhury said Biswas “wasn’t a seasoned Congress politician”.
“I managed most of his campaigning as he has high sugar and he wasn’t campaigning much. One thing has been proven that the Congress can defeat the TMC,” he added.
“All of India knows how Mamata Banerjee breaks parties. We accept this challenge and warn her — her party will be broken into pieces in the coming days,” he said. “The Congress had given Bayron an opportunity. We thank the people of Sagardighi for choosing the Congress.”
While addressing a news briefing after Biswas’ induction, Abhishek Banerjee responded to Chowdhury’s allegation “We don’t believe in breaking parties, we believe in building the party,” he said.
“Bayron didn’t join us in Murshidabad, he came all the way here in Midnapore to join the TMC. Those from the BJP in touch with us, we are screening them before taking them in. If need be, I can press a button and you will be surprised how many Congress MPs from Bengal and outside will join TMC.”
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
Also Read: Congress unwilling to retreat in Bengal despite Mamata’s outreach — ‘will continue to fight TMC’