Mukul Roy, who joined Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2017, has returned to Trinamool Congress (TMC). Reaping reward for returning to his party, sources said that Roy is set to be appointed as TMC Vice-president.

Mukul Roy had been one of the core team members of the TMC from the beginning. He was one of the senior leaders of the TMC and a Rajya Sabha MP when he joined the BJP in November 2017.

“Roy will be provided Z security by Bengal govt while his son Subhranshu Roy will be given Y+ security,” as per sources.

After 4 years of hard work with BJP, Mukul Roy and his son returned to Trinamool, triggering a possible return of several TMC turncoats after BJP’s Bengal loss.

Why he re-joined TMC?

There are talks that he had joined the BJP to save himself from going behind the bars as CBI probing the Saradha chit fund scam and Mukul Roy was an accused in the scam.

Mukul Roy was always a big leader in TMC next in line to CM Mamata Banerjee. And in BJP he was given importance but everything thing changed when Suvendu Adhikari gained more importance in BJP after the victory in Nandigram where he defeated CM Mamata. This may lead him to leave the party and join TMC again.

CM Mamata was always soft towards Mukul Roy. She even asked Roy to join TMC again before the Bengal assembly election this year.

He said, “I have joined TMC today. In the present circumstances, no one will remain in Bharatiya Janata Party,” said Roy.

Addressing a press meet after the re-joining ceremony, Banerjee said Roy was threatened and tortured in the BJP, and that, in turn, affected his health.

“Mukul’s return proves that the BJP does not let anyone live in peace and put’s undue pressure on everyone,” the chief minister said

Welcoming her oldest aide, Banerjee said, “We welcome Mukul Roy. He will play an important role in the Party. Many will follow. Those who criticized the party, betrayed the party before elections for BJP, for money, we will not consider them.”

Meanwhile, some more ex-TMC leaders who joined BJP such as former assembly deputy speaker Sonali Guha, former legislator Dipendu Biswas and leader Sarala Murmu have openly said that they want to return. Some others, like former forest minister Rajib Banerjee, have criticised BJP.

“Just like a fish cannot survive out of water, I cannot survive without Mamata Banerjee. I am severing all ties with the BJP and would join the TMC whenever Didi calls me,” Guha told reporters.

But on Friday, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee made it clear that the party is not going to accept everyone.

“We don’t know who these people are [who are willing to leave BJP and return to TMC]. We are the largest party in the world and there is a democracy in the party. We are not a family-centric party. We have some ideologies which run the party. If someone feels that he is feeling breathless and would be able to serve the people by moving to another party, then BJP respects it,” said Jay Prakash Majumdar, BJP’s vice president in West Bengal.

Image Source: PTI