Kanjilal’s victory from Alipurduar was part of the anti-TMC wave in North Bengal in the 2021 Assembly elections. TMC second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee was present to welcome him into the party.
A student leader who was associated with the Congress, Kanjilal did his graduation in law from Bihar and then became a journalist, working for many vernacular dailies of West Bengal. It was district BJP leader Gangaprasad Sharma, whom he grew close to, who brought Kanjilal into politics. Incidentally, Sharma was not too happy at Kanjilal getting the ticket from Alipurduar, and earlier quit the BJP to join the TMC.
In the 2021 Assembly elections, the BJP had first picked Ashok Lahiri as its candidate from Alipurduar. But, at the last minute, Lahiri was shifted as Balurghat candidate, and it was to guard against factionalism if they picked a local, that the BJP leadership chose “outsider” Kanjilal. He defeated senior TMC leader Sourav Chakraborty from Alipurduar, by an impressive margin of 16,000 votes.
Kanjilal said the main reason he decided to shift to the TMC was the Centre stopping funds for some popular schemes to West Bengal, citing irregularities. “I did not agree with this policy to stop payment to Bengal. I believe that as a people’s representative, I should not support this. So, I decided to quit the BJP.”
He said his other reason was unhappiness with Alipurduar BJP MP and Union Minister of State John Barla, and other party leaders. “I cannot work with a leader like Barla,” he said.
Story continues below this ad
Dismissing Kanjilal’s claims, Alipurduar district BJP president Bhushan Modak said they had known for some time that Kanjilal might shift sides. “We knew that he had been in contact with the TMC for several months. He had also been maintaining distance from the party under various pretexts. I tried to keep him back, but it is not possible to retain someone who judges politics by profit figures.”
Barla too attacked Kanjilal, saying he had “never been useful to the party organisation”. “He came to the party with the help of a traitor (another leader who quit the BJP for the TMC). Naturally, he betrayed us.”
BJP spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya said Kanjilal’s exit would make no difference to the party. “The BJP will not lose its relevance in state politics due to the MLA changing parties.”
However, there is disquiet within the TMC too at Kanjilal joining the party, with a senior leader pointing out that he has been “in the anti-Sourav Chakraborty group in Alipurduar since his student life”. “We do not know how the party will manage this.”
Story continues below this ad
Chakraborty said he didn’t anticipate any issues. “Kanjilal has joined the TMC as he supports the development work of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. I support the same too, and I am happy that Suman will join me and we will both work towards the same goal.”
The other BJP legislators to have moved to the TMC since the 2021 polls include Krishnanagar North MLA and BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy; Kaliaganj MLA Soumen Roy; Raiganj MLA Krishna Kalyani; Bagda MLA Biswajit Das; and Bishnupur MLA Tanmoy Ghosh.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who earlier moved from the TMC to the BJP, has gone to the Calcutta High Court to get Speaker Biman Banerjee to take a call on their disqualification. The matter is pending in court.
Adhikari questioned the TMC’s handling of the matter, tweeting: “Are you scared of the 10th Schedule of the Indian Constitution (anti-defection law)? Not handing over TMC flag?… Because, inside Vidhan Sabha, as in the case of Mukul Roy, TMC Owner labelled him as BJP; Suman Kanjilal would also claim that he belongs to the BJP Legislative Party.”
Story continues below this ad
Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh hit back, telling Adhikari in a post: “Before tweeting publicly, please go home first and tell your father and brother this theory of anti-defection law. Also admit that BJP MLAs do not trust BJP and opposition leaders. It is also the failure of the opportunist traitor Suvendu Adhikari.”
Adhikari’s father and brother continue to be in the TMC.
