Ex-TMC MPs Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Prakash Chik Baraik join BJP

In another political setback for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MPs Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Prakash Chik Baraik joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday.

The three leaders, who had recently resigned from both the TMC and the Rajya Sabha, were inducted into the BJP at the party's Salt Lake headquarters in the presence of West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya and other senior state leaders.

Bhattacharya welcomed them by presenting BJP flags during the induction ceremony. Their exit from the TMC came amid a wave of defections that followed the party's crushing defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections.

Before formally severing ties with the party, all three leaders had publicly questioned the TMC leadership over its functioning after the poll setback.

Welcoming the former parliamentarians into the BJP, Bhattacharya said their parliamentary experience and understanding of public issues would strengthen the party's organisation in West Bengal and help expand its reach across the state.

The development comes ahead of the Rajya Sabha bypolls for the three vacant seats, which the Election Commission has scheduled for July 24, with counting to be held later the same day.

The vacancies were created after Ray, Dev, and Baraik resigned from the Upper House on different dates in June. Their induction is expected to bolster the BJP's position in West Bengal and add to its strength in the Rajya Sabha.