Kolkata: For them, it is a situation which can aptly be described as 'between the devil and the deep blue sea'. Be it Prabir Ghoshal, Sonali Guha, Sarala Murmu, Dipendu Biswas, Amal Acharya or even to some extent Rajib Banerjee, most of the Trinamool Congress turncoats who either bit the dust in the elections or have not got anything substantial from their new party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, have gradually started mending their ways with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, albeit in their own personal ways. The stellar performance of the Trinamool Congress in the recently concluded Assembly elections of West Bengal has made them change tactics.
The latest in the beeline is Subhranshu Roy, the former Trinamool Congress MLA from Bijpur in North 24 Parganas, who had donned the saffron hues like his father Mukul Roy, only to face a drubbing from his earlier party from the same seat.
Former Basirhat Dakshin MLA and footballer-turned-politician Dipendu Biswas, who had switched sides before the elections, has also tendered his unconditional apology and expressed his desire to work alongside Banerjee.
Subhranshu took to Facebook and wrote, “Before criticising a popularly elected government, it is necessary to introspect.” This one liner from Mukul’s son was enough to stir the hornet’s nest. Coming on the heels of another turncoat-now repentant Sonali Guha, Subhranshu’s comments are now construed as a precursor to his bid to enter the Trinamool-fold.
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Incidentally, Guha had recently written an emotional letter to her ‘leader’ Banerjee and had said, “In a momentary lapse of emotion, I had wrongfully switched sides. I am unable to cope here. Just like a fish cannot survive without water, I also do not exist without you. Didi, I tender my apologies and urge you to forgive me. Please give me some shelter as I want to live the rest of my life under your auspices.”
The letter followed a silent move. On May 25, Sonali was spotted at the Sraddh ceremony of Ashish Banerjee, brother of Mamata Banerjee, who had passed away due to Covid related complications. Sonali’s presence at Mamata’s house and the fact that she was admitted to the Kalighat residence of the Bengal CM, had spoken loud enough in her favour from the Trinamool. But, not for all.
Trinamool veteran like Sougata Roy or spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, though, are not in a position to extend an immediate olive branch to the deserters. Ghosh had been candid enough in saying that if the party opens its doors to the deserters now, then it will send a wrong signal to those workers who was stuck with the TMC, resisting the temptations from the BJP. “It will be a gross injustice to them and we should not allow it,” Ghosh said.
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As of now, the TMC has not taken any official stand on the issue of turncoats willing to come back. Party insiders say that the way renegades and deserters were shunned by Banerjee during or immediately after the elections; there is hardly a chance of any ‘Ghar Wapsi’ at the moment. The only silver lining for the hopefuls are, yet again, Mamata Banerjee, who could raise the issue in front of the party’s extended core committee meeting scheduled for June 5.
For the record, Subhranshu has said that he is busy attending to his ailing mother. Both Mukul Roy and his wife were detected as Covid-19 positive on May 14 and though Mukul has been undergoing treatment in isolation at home, his wife had to be admitted to hospital.
Will Mamata open her doors to her former comrade-in-arms and throw some more salt to the already open wounds of the BJP? Will the return of the natives be another round of win for the Trinamool supremo after the latest tussle between the Bengal government and the Centre over the abrupt recall of the state Chief Secretary? The wait for the answers might not be too long.
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