Arjun Singh returns to BJP, TMC MP Dibyendu Adhikari switches allegiance

Alongside Singh, Trinamool MP Dibyendu Adhikari also joined the BJP.

Singh, who kept sulking after the Trinamool denied him a ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from his constituency Barrackpore, is likely to be nominated by the BJP from the same constituency.

In 2019 too, Arjun Singh had crossed over to the BJP before the general elections after the Trinamool refused to entertain his demand that he be made the party candidate from Barrackpore.

He fought the election from Barrackpore as a BJP nominee and defeated sitting Trinamool MP Dinesh Trivedi in a close fight.

However, he returned to the Trinamool in 2022 but retained his MP status.

This time, the Trinamool has given the ticket for the Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency to state irrigation minister Partha Bhowmick, who is serving his third straight term as the MLA from Naihati, which comes under Barrackpore.

After taking the BJP flag again, Singh alleged that he was forced to disassociate with the BJP in 2022 as pressure was built on him and his followers after the 2021 Assembly poll and many BJP cadres were killed in Barrackpore and other parts of the state in post-election violence.

Dibyendu Adhikari, who represents Tamluk in the Lok Sabha, is the younger brother of the state leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari.

Dibyendu expressed happiness with his entry into the BJP fold. "What happened in Sandeshkhali, especially against women, is not an issue of Bengal alone but that of the entire country," he said.