After being appointed party V-P in Bengal, Roy vows to ensure BJP’s defeat in polls

Days after she threatened rebellion, three-time Trinamool Congress MP Shatabdi Roy was appointed Vice President of the party’s Bengal unit on Sunday.

On Friday, Roy indicated she was ready to cross over to the BJP, but after a meeting with fellow MP Abhishek Banerjee, who is Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, she cancelled her Delhi trip. Roy had indicated she could meet Home minister Amit Shah during her Delhi stay, triggering speculation that she was ready to ditch the TMC.

Roy said she “welcomed the decision” and that she would work hard to ensure the defeat of the BJP in the forthcoming election. “If you take up the matter concerning the party with the top leadership, it is addressed. This development proves that,” she was quoted by news agency PTI.

On Friday the TMC battled to persuade Roy — who retained Birbhum in the 2019 election despite colleagues losing neighbouring seats to the BJP by huge margins — to remain in the party.

Meanwhile, the  BJP has decided to continue “carpet-bombing” on the TMC till this year’s Assembly elections are over, party insiders said adding the saffron outfit is lining up a number of “parivartan rallies” led by some senior national leader or the other in February.

Party sources said Shah who was scheduled to come to Bengal on January 18 would visit the State on January 30-31 when he will hold organsiation-level meetings as well as rallies.

Party president JP Nadda too will lead a number of rallies in February and efforts are on to rope in Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for an intensified campaign.

The BJP may bring in Prime Narendra Modi as early as in March to intensify its campaign in Bengal, sources said adding Shah, Nadda, Bengal BJP observer Kailash Vijaybargiya, party vice-president Mukul Roy, Shiv Prakash and Amitavo Chakraborty and others met the Home Minister’s residence last week to assess the so-called tide in favour of the BJP and it was decided that the party should apart from continuing its attack on the Trinamool Congress strengthen the booth-level organsations particularly in the areas where it did not fare well in the 2019 general elections.

The BJP surprised the critics in the parliamentary polls winning 18 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats wresting 16 from the ruling outfit.