Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Tapasi Mondal, a close aide of the leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari, joined the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday. Mondal's decision to join the TMC dealt a heavy blow to the BJP's organisation not just in Purba
Medinipur, Adhikari's stronghold where the port town of Haldia is located, but also to its legislature party in which she played a key role with assembly elections in the state due early next year.
She joined the TMC at its headquarters in Kolkata in the presence of state Power Minister Aroop Biswas. "I decided to be a part of the chief minister's developmental initiative," she said, justifying the switching of sides.
Taking to X, TMC from its official handle extended her a warm welcome and wrote, "Welcoming BJP's Haldia MLA Tapasi Mondal to the Trinamool Congress family! Her decision to join us is a testament to the growing disillusionment with BJP’s politics. Under the leadership of Smt. @MamataOfficial, she will work tirelessly for the people’s welfare."
Mondal won the Haldia seat as a Congress-supported CPI(M) candidate in 2016. She moved to the BJP after Adhikari joined the party from TMC ahead of the 2021 assembly polls.