Former union minister Babul Supriyo joins TMC

BJP on Saturday got a big jolt when former union minister Babul Supriyo joined Trinamool Congress, two months after he was asked to resign as junior minister in the Environment Ministry and a month after saying he won't join any other party and would quit politics. Later, he amended his plans and said he would remain a Member of Parliament. "If opportunity comes your way, you should decide, and I have decided to take this,"  Supriyo told reporters in Kolkata. This comes just three days after Trinamool Congress MP Arpita Ghosh resigned from the Rajya Sabha leaving the post vacant

Recently, the BJP had named him as one of their 20 star campaigners against Mamata Banerjee in the upcoming Bhawanipore bye-elections. On Saturday, he went to the south-Kolkata office of chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee and joined the party, said a senior TMC leader. Supriyo is the fifth BJP leader - the four others were BJP MLAs - to join Trinamool Congress after Ms Banerjee's party won the assembly election in May and retained power. Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh said more BJP leaders are in talks to join the party. "Many BJP leaders are in communication with Trinamool leadership. They are not satisfied with BJP. One (Mr Supriyo) joined today, another wants to join tomorrow. This process will go on. Wait and watch," Mr Ghosh said.