BJP’s defection tactics against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is facing major setbacks as the ruling party in West Bengal has started retaliating by taking back 25 of its councillors and three Zilla Parishad members in the last few weeks. This has put BJP leader Mukul Roy in a spot as he has been the main architect of roping in elected public representatives of TMC. It has put question marks on his claim that 107 MLAs from TMC, Congress and CPI(M) will soon BJP.

Following the return of these councilors TMC have regained effective control of two key municipalities North 24 Paraganas district and one zilla parishad in South Dinajpur district from BJP. Out of 22 TMC councilors of Kanchrapara Municipality 17 joined BJP soon after the Lok Sabha election results were declared. But 14 such councilors returned to TMC in the last two weeks and hence the ruling party regained control of the municipality. Kanchrapa Municipality has a total strength of 24 councilors.

As for Halisahar Municipality out of the 13 TMC councilors eight joined BJP. But last week the eight councilors returned to TMC. They met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressing their desire to return to TMC following which state’s Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim formally announced their return to the party. Halisahar Municipality has a total strength of 22 councilors.

Causing further embarrassment to the saffron party these councilors have alleged that they were forced to join BJP. However, BJP MP from Barrackpore Arjun Singh, himself a turncoat from TMC, said that BJP will regain control of these municipalities when a no confidence motion will be brought.

BJP also faced a set back in the South Dinajpur zilla parishad, the fist zilla parishad in Bengal of which it gained effective control. Out of the 11 TMC zilla parishad members five joined BJP last month but three of them have returned to TMC. These zilla parishad members said that they joined BJP due to confusion and have returned to TMC to rectify their mistakes. TMC district president in South Dinajpur Arpita Ghosh said that the remaining TMC members will soon come back in the party.