Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Saumitra Khan has claimed that nearly 20 MPs and 50 MLAs from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) are in contact with the BJP and are prepared to switch sides if the party leadership approves their induction.
TMC MPs are unhappy
Khan alleged that several TMC MPs are unhappy within the party and were maintaining communication with leaders in the saffron camp. "Twenty TMC MPs are in touch with us. If the party leadership wants, they are ready to switch sides. If the BJP wants, the entire TMC will wind up in the next few days," Khan, a three-term Lok Sabha MP, told reporters on Tuesday.
The BJP leader, however, did not disclose the names of the MPs allegedly in touch with the party.
The TMC currently has 29 MPs in the Lok Sabha out of 42 from West Bengal, whereas the BJP has 12 and the Congress has one.
Under the anti-defection law, at least two-thirds of the members of a parliamentary party need to switch sides together to avoid disqualification. In the TMC's case, with 29 MPs in the Lok Sabha, the number works out to around 19 or 20.
TMC calls it 'bogus'
Rejecting Khan's claims, senior TMC MP Sougata Roy termed the reports as "baseless". "It is absolutely bogus what the BJP and Soumitra Khan are feeding to reporters. Nothing of this sort will happen," Roy said.
Ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections, several prominent leaders from the TMC had crossed over to the BJP, though many later returned after the Mamata Banerjee-led party retained power in West Bengal.
However, political equations are said to be different this time, with the BJP now governing the state after bringing an end to the TMC's 15-year rule.
The speculation also comes at a time when signs of unease within the TMC have become increasingly visible, with several legislators, MPs and leaders publicly expressing discontent in recent weeks.
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