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Kolkata (West Bengal): Following the sudden resignation of Tapas Roy from the Trinamool Congress, fellow TMC leader Santanu Sen expressed his surprise and scepticism on Monday and questioned the timing of Roy's decision, which came just 15 days before the election announcement and hinted at the possibility that a lucrative job offer may have influenced Roy's move.
"Tapas Roy is now saying that he is not getting any importance in the party. But why did he think of this suddenly, 15 days before the election announcement? Why did he not speak earlier? ...TMC made you a minister, the Deputy Chief Whip, and the organizational chief. It is being heard that you are going to change your ideology and join another party. Can a man do that suddenly if he doesn't have a lucrative job from the other side?" TMC leader Sen told ANI.
Responding to Tapas Roy's resignation, BJP MLA and West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari expressed his respect for Roy's long political career. He welcomed Roy's decision to resign and indicated that the BJP would consider welcoming Roy into their ranks if he expressed such a desire.
"He is a very senior leader of our state. He is an ex-minister and has been a 4-5 time MLA... I welcome his decision to resign from the party and as an MLA. If he makes a request to join the BJP...after discussing it with the party...we will announce it," BJP leader Adhikari said.
In a significant development ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, veteran Trinamool Congress leader and Baranagar MLA Tapas Roy resigned from the party on Sunday, citing a lack of respect within the party as his reason.
Tapas Roy, served as the MLA for Baranagar and held the position of Deputy Whip within the TMC.
Roy's resignation comes on the heels of an incident involving the ED team visiting his house, after which he claims to have received no support from the party.
"There are several reasons (for resignation). The reasons include various scams, the Sandeshkhali incident and insults. Last but not least, immediately after January 12, the ED raided my flat. Nobody from the party came forward to give a statement or take the pains to talk to my family. So I am really sad...The ED was not sent to my house by the BJP. Sudip Banerjee had sent the ED because he is afraid, frightened and jealous of me..." he said.
In a surprising turn of events, popular Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh, who was recently announced as the BJP's candidate for the Asansol constituency, withdrew from the race on Sunday.
Taking to his official handle on X, the singer confirmed that he was pulling out of the contest "due to some reason."
"I express my heartfelt gratitude to the top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The party trusted me and declared me as the candidate from West Bengal's Asansol but due to some reason, I will not be able to contest the elections from Asansol," Singh posted from his X handle on Sunday.
