Qazi Abdur Rahim and his supporters joined the Trinamool Congress on Saturday.
Calcutta:
A congressional lawmaker and his supporters joined Congress from Trinamool on Saturday.
Baduria Qazi MP Abdur Rahim joined the ruling West Bengal party at its seat in the presence of senior ministers Firhad Hakim and Partha Chatterjee.
“I realized that Didi (Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee) is the only hope in the fight against BJP. So, I join the TMC to strengthen its hand,” Mr. Rahim said.
Chief Congressman Manoj Chakraborty said the induction of opposition Congress and CPI (M) MPs into the TMC reflected the ruling party’s intention to “weaken secular forces” in the state.
Congress won 44 seats in the 2016 Assembly election, but 18 of its MPs have moved to the ruling TMC since then.
However, with the exception of former lawmaker Sabang Manas Bhunia, who later became a member of parliament for Rajya Sabha, none of the congressional setbacks have resigned from their parliamentary posts.
Besides Rahim, former BJP vice-president Mahila Morcha Moumita Basu Chakraborty and a few retired bureaucrats have also joined the TMC.
