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In what will be a blow to the ruling Trinamool Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Dibyendu Adhikari, an MP and younger brother of Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, is likely to join the BJP in Delhi on Friday, sources said.
Apart from the LoP's younger sibling, TMC's Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh, who joined the ruling party in the state after its victory in the 2021 Assembly elections, is also likely to return to the BJP on Friday. Dibyendu is currently a Trinamool MP from the Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency of Purba Medinipur district. Earlier, the TMC lost old-timer and sitting MLA Tapas Roy to the BJP. After resigning his membership in the Assembly and also stepping down from all party posts, Roy accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the TMC leadership of leaving him to fend for himself and not reaching out during a raid by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED). Earlier, during a visit to North Bengal, LoP Suvendu Adhikari said the region in the upper reaches of the state has long been a bastion of the BJP and has stood with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking to reporters, Suvendu said, "The people of North Bengal have always stood with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Here, the people love him, respect him and consider him as one of their own. North Bengal has voted in favour of PM Modi since 2014. In 2019, his vote percentage increased and in 2021, his support base in North Bengal remained intact." Earlier, political analyst and election strategist Prashant Kishor, who has worked with the TMC and CM Mamata, said the BJP was on course to perform better than the ruling party in the state this time in the Lok Sabha elections. (ANI)
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