Arjun Singh's 'ghar wapsi': Not all seem to be happy in Trinamool

Kolkata, May 23

Not everybody in West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress seems to be happy over the return of BJP Lok Sabha member from Barrackpore constituency in North 25 Parganas district, Arjun Singh.

Although there had not been any vehement anguish within the party against this return of the prodigal, loaded statements by some senior Trinamool leaders have revealed that there is some internal discontent.

Veteran Trinamool leader and three-time party Lok Sabha member from Dum Dum constituency, also in North 24 Parganas district, Saugata Roy opined that Singh's return will not result in additional value addition for the party.

"Of the seven Assembly constituencies under Barrackpore Lok Sabha, voters of six Assembly constituencies elected Trinamool Congress candidates in the 2021 elections. Only the Bhatpara Assembly constituency elected Arjun Singh's son, Pawan Kumar Singh as a BJP candidate. Now, Pawan Kumar Singh will return to Trinamool. That is not much of a value addition. However, the return will also not harm the party," Roy said on Monday.

The statement made by Partha Bhowmik, a three-time Trinamool MLA from Naihati, one of the seven Assembly segments of Barrackpore, made it evident that he is accepting this decision as a bitter pill.

"Since our supreme leader, Mamata Banerjee and our party's national General Secretary, Abhishek Banerjee has agreed on taking back Arjun Singh to the party, I have nothing to say and I am bound to accept this as the decision of the top party leadership," he said.

In the most difficult situation is eloquent Trinamool youth leader, Debangshu Bhattacharjee, who had, before the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls, said that if turncoats going to BJP apply to Mamata Banerjee at a later stage for return to the party fold, he will oppose that.

However, on Monday, he was more diplomatic.

"There is no question of my likes and dislikes. I am a disciplined soldier of the party and accept the decision taken by the party to finish BJP from the state," he said.

Opposition leaders, however, have said that barring Mamata Banerjee, the opinion of the other leaders in the Trinamool doed not really matter.