MLAs leaving BJP for Trinamool are like migratory birds: Dilip Ghosh

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) Anticipating that a couple of more BJP MLAs in West Bengal might leave the party and join the Trinamool Congress, state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said on Thursday that those deserting the party are like 'migratory birds'.

Ghosh told IANS that only those MLAs are returning to the Trinamool fold who had joined the saffron camp before the Assembly elections in West Bengal.

"The MLAs leaving us to join the Trinamool are like migratory birds, who are now returning home after the end of the election season," he said.

After the landslide victory of Trinamool Congress in the Assembly polls held earlier this year, as many as four BJP MLAs have again jumped ship to the ruling party.

In June, Mukul Roy, then national Vice President of BJP and MLA from Krishnanagar North, left the BJP and joined the Trinamool.

Recently, three BJP MLAs -- Tanmoy Ghosh from Bishnupur, Biswajit Das from Bagda and Soumen Roy from Kaliaganj -- also returned to the Trinamool fold.

The BJP's strength in the West Bengal Assembly has now dropped to 71 from 77 after two of its MLAs resigned to retain their Lok Sabha seats, while four others have returned to the Trinamool camp.

"Before elections, like many others, these MLAs (barring Roy who had joined the BJP in 2017) had joined the BJP from Trinamool. Now unable to fit with the BJP's culture and working style, they are returning back to their old party. They are unable to adjust here," Ghosh said.

When asked about talks doing the rounds that over a dozen more BJP MLAs are all set to join the ruling party in Bengal, Ghosh said, "It is not true. Only a few MLAs, who had joined from the Trinamool, are trying to return to their previous party due to several reasons like pressure from different agencies of state administration etc. None of the BJP workers are leaving the party, only those who joined us before Assembly polls have left."

Earlier, BJP national general secretary and West Bengal in-charge, Kailash Vijayvargiya, had claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is misusing the state administration and police to threaten the party MLAs with false cases and under pressure they are joining the Trinamool despite winning in the assembly polls.

"Intimidation, false cases, pressure and misuse of state machinery are the main reasons behind BJP MLAs joining the Trinamool," Vijayvargiya had said.