Party needs to introspect, stop pretending all is well: BJP leader on Arjun Singh’s return to TMC

BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra Monday called for introspection within the party, a day after its MP Arjun Singh returned to the TMC, contending that the saffron camp needs to fix lacunae instead of pretending “all is well”.

In yet another body-blow to the beleaguered saffron camp in West Bengal, Singh had on Sunday rejoined the ruling Trinamool Congress, calling it his “homecoming”.

"If someone leaves the party, and you keep on saying it won't have any impact, that is not the right approach. We have to accept that it will have an effect, and should introspect why people are leaving (the BJP)," Hazra tweeted.

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Hazra, who has been training his guns at the state leadership for failing to keep the flock together, said at a time when the party is having a tough time winning municipal elections, a person holding a senior position quitting will indeed have an adverse impact.

"We should accept the reality; disregarding it won't serve any purpose. The approach that ‘all is well’ is not right," he later told a news channel.

The state BJP unit is yet to respond to Hazra’s remarks.

The saffron party in West Bengal has been stung by a string of desertions following the assembly poll results last year, with former Union minister Babul Supriyo and five legislators, including national vice-president Mukul Roy, switching over to the TMC.

Several senior TMC leaders like Rajib Banerjee and Sabyasachi Dutta, who had joined the BJP, too, have returned to the Mamata Banerjee-led party.