TMC MPs Arjun Singh, Dibyendu Adhikari join BJP ahead of Lok Sabha election 2024

Arjun Singh and Dibyendu Adhikari joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on March 15

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs Arjun Singh and Dibyendu Adhikari joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on March 15 ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha polls likely to be held in April-May this year.

BJP leaders Dushyant Gautam and Amit Malviya were present as the two MPs joined the saffron party.

TMC MPs Shri Arjun Singh and Shri Dibyendu Adhikari #JoinBJP at party headquarters in New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/uD8A1Nhemt

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— BJP (@BJP4India) March 15, 2024

Singh had earlier joined the saffron party in 2019 after quitting TMC. He had defeated the then-TMC candidate  on the Barrackpore seat. He jumped the ship to TMC again in 2022 even as he remained a BJP MP on Parliament record.

"After I became the MP from BJP, the way post-poll political violence happened in West Bengal, our area was the worst-hit. I was tolerating atrocities on myself, but to save the workers, I had to keep some distance from the party (BJP) for some days," news agency PTI quoted Arjun Singh as saying.

Tamluk MP Dibyendu Adhikari, brother of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, also joined the BJP.

A few days back former TMC leader Tapas Roy also joined the saffron party.

Roy had resigned as TMC MLA citing disillusionment with the party leadership. Roy, a five-time MLA, had accused the TMC and its supremo Mamata Banerjee of "deserting him during trying circumstances", expressing his frustration over the party's silence when his residence was raided by the ED on January 12 over alleged irregularities in municipal recruitment.

(With PTI inputs)