More opposition leaders are willing to join BJP: Baijayant Panda

Days after Suvendu Adhikari and a few other TMC leaders switched over to the BJP, Baijayant Panda, BJP's national vice-president has claimed that they were in touch with more leaders from opposition parties who are willing to join them in the state.

Kolkata (West Bengal):Two days after Trinamool Congress (TMC) heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari, along with several other leaders across party lines, switched over to the BJP, its national vice-president Baijayant Panda on Monday claimed that more leaders from opposition parties are willing to join them in the state.

"We are in touch with many leaders who want to join us. Opposition party members are contacting us on a daily basis," Panda said.

"Because of the undeniable popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is exceptional, this is a phenomenon all over the country. Recently you have seen, when Home Minster Amit Shah was in the state, members of other parties, especially the TMC, joined BJP in large numbers," Panda said, adding people of West Bengal are tired of the violence in the state that is carried out by the current government. "They want to go back to the golden old days and that can only be possible with the development agenda of the BJP under the leadership of PM Modi."

He added in neighbouring Assam, several elected representatives at the district level have joined the party in the last few weeks.

"Shah will soon conduct a rally in Assam. We have many events like the state executive meeting of the party, unveiling of Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statue on his birth anniversary and so on," he said.

"Even though we are in a very comfortable position in Assam as we recently won the Bodoland Territorial Council elections, and Tiwa Autonomous Council elections where we swept 33 out 36 seats, we do not take things lightly," he said.

He also urged the farmers and the countrymen to read and think about the letter of Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

"The AAP, Congress, and many others are opposing the farm laws because they want to criticise PM Modi. The Congress, which started drafting the farm laws when it was in government, today is opposing them. It shows the hypocrisy of the party," he said, adding many national surveys reported by respected channels show that majority of people are in support of these laws.

ANI