BJP’s Tapasi Mondal joins TMC, becomes eighth MLA to switch to Mamata Banerjee-led party

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Tapasi Mondal joined West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress on Monday. She became at least the eighth BJP MLA to have crossed over to the Mamata Banerjee-led party since 2021.

At a press conference, Mondal accused the BJP of “indulging in divisive politics”.

“The BJP is trying to flare up communal tensions in the state,” she said. “It is pursuing divisive politics, and the people of this state have repeatedly rejected it… I repeatedly tried to say this within the party but the leadership ignored me. It was getting tough for me to accept such politics.”

The two-time legislator from Haldia had quit the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 2020 to join the BJP. Haldia is located in Purba Medinipur, which is considered to be a stronghold of Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

West Bengal will head for Assembly polls in the first half of 2026.

However, the BJP said that the “people will reject such political opportunists”.

“Earlier, Mukut Mani Adhikari, Krishna Kalyani and Biswajit Das also joined the TMC and became candidates in Lok Sabha elections but the people defeated them,” The Indian Express quoted Adhikari as having told reporters on Monday. “The people will not accept this.”

Adhikari claimed that Mondal wanted to become the Hindutva party’s district president...

Read more