In a recent blow to the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), Haldia MLA Tapsai Mondal on Monday switched to the Tiramool Congress (TMC), that too in leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari’s turf.
She is the ninth MLA from the BJP to make the switch to Manta Banerjee-led TMC in the last four years.
After this, the BJP strength in the 294-member assembly drops to 65. Some of the major leaders who have defected to the TMC are Mukul Roy, Krishna Kalyan, Biswajit Das, who were elected from the Krishnangar North, Raiganj, and Bagdah Assembly constituencies respectively.
Mondal's switch is a heavy blow to the BJP as she wields influence in Halida, n important industrial and financial centre in Purba Medinipur district that is considered the Adhikari family’s stronghold. With her in its ranks, the TMC’s efforts to break the BJP’s hold in Purba Medinipur will receive a major boost, reported Indian Express.
BJP holds seven, including Adhikari’s Nandigram seat, out of the 16 Assembly seats in Purba. Whereas, TMC has nine seats.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won the two parliamentary constituencies in the district and led in 15 of the Assembly segments. Mondal’s entry into the party is expected to help the TMC’s efforts to tilt the scale back in its favour.
“The BJP did really well in Purba Medinipur in 2021 and also in the Lok Sabha election in 2024. Mondal has been close to Adhikari and had joined the BJP around the same time (in 2020). Mondal’s entry will help us get the help organisationally and counter Adhikari,” an Indian Express report quoting a senior TMC leader said.
Who is Tapsai Monda?
Mondal embarked on her political journey with the CPI(M), securing a position as a councillor in Haldia municipality in 2011. During the 2016 Assembly elections, the Left party nominated her to contest from Haldia, a constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes. She emerged victorious, becoming one of the 30 CPI(M) candidates to win and the only CPI(M) MLA from Purba Medinipur. In 2020, Mondal switched allegiance to the BJP, citing her desire to challenge the TMC and its political strategies. Around the same time, Adhikari also joined the BJP after a fallout with Mamata Banerjee.
In the 2021 elections, Mondal triumphed over TMC’s Swapan Naskar by a margin of 15,000 votes. Sources highlight that she commands a robust organizational network in Haldia, supported by a committed team of workers.
On Monday, Mondal revealed that she lacked support from the BJP leadership, hinting that internal factionalism within the Bengal BJP over the past year had influenced her stance. According to party insiders, she had opposed the nomination of Abhijit Gangopadhyay, a former Calcutta High Court judge turned politician, for the Tamluk seat in last year’s Lok Sabha elections. Gangopadhyay’s subsequent victory intensified local tensions between the two, fueling ongoing disputes.
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