Kolkata, July 9, 2026
Three former Rajya Sabha members of the Trinamool Congress, who resigned from the Upper House of Parliament last month, on Thursday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the party’s state headquarters in Salt Lake, Kolkata.
BJP’s state president in West Bengal and Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya welcomed the three leaders – Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev, and Prakash Chik Baraik – and handed over the party flag to them.
Bhattacharya clarified that allowing Roy, Dev, and Baraik to join the BJP should be considered an exceptional case.
He said this did not mean the BJP would open its doors to anyone from the Trinamool, but stressed that the three leaders had clean track records, with no allegations of corruption during their time in the Trinamool.
Speculation is rife in political circles that the BJP might renominate the three leaders for the upcoming Rajya Sabha by-elections scheduled for July 24, necessitated by their resignations.
Bhattacharya, however, neither confirmed nor denied this possibility, saying, “Let the discussions on this continue.”
Roy resigned from the Rajya Sabha on June 8, followed by Dev on June 10 and Baraik on June 11. After resigning, Baraik praised Chief Minister Subhendu Adhikari, while Dev met Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Delhi.
Roy had been critical of the Trinamool leadership long before the West Bengal assembly elections earlier this year.
He distanced himself from the party, criticising the Mamata Banerjee-led administration over the rape and murder of a junior doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata in August 2024.
He was sidelined in the party and eventually resigned last month.
As per the current numerical equation in the West Bengal assembly, BJP nominees are likely to win all three seats. The BJP currently has 208 MLAs in the Assembly. To defeat a BJP nominee, an opposition candidate would need at least 70 votes.
Though officially, Trinamool has 80 legislators, 60 belong to the “rebel but majority” faction led by expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee, while the remaining 20 continue to support Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee.(Agency)
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