Nine months after being name accused in a case of domestic violence, a first-time MLA from the BJP joined the Trinamul ahead of Thursday’s rally led by chief minister Mamata Banerjee to commemorate International Women’s day.

Mukut Mani Adhikari, a doctor by profession and MLA from Ranaghat South, was named in a police complaint filed by his wife with the Tiljala police station barely 11 days after his marriage in May, 2023.

At College Square, Adhikari was seen accepting the Trinamul flag from the party’s all India general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee. Adhikari’s flip happened a day after the former Trinamul MLA, Tapas Roy, quit the party and joined the BJP.

“Look who is walking in the TMC procession alongside Bhaipo to observe international women’s day. Mukut Mani Adhikari- Ranaghat South MLA. He was accused of domestic violence by his wife. The FIR was filed by his wife on the 11^th day of their marriage. Certainly qualifies as the ‘poster boy’ of TMC’s rally to honour women,” wrote leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP on his X handle.

The Tiljala Police had filed a charge sheet against the MLA on February 10 this year.

“I can understand the desperation of the Ranaghat South MLA Dr Mukut Mani Adhikari, who must have thought that it’s better to join TMC rather than going to jail as the charge sheet was filed less than a month ago,” Adhikari wrote around 6.30pm on X, sharing a copy of the charge sheet. “But I fail to understand why did Mamata Banerjee chose to induct him in her party on the eve of International Women’s day and paraded him to display her new possession? What message was she trying to send by making him a part of the Women’s Day rally? Is it that after her ‘blue eyed boy’ Sheikh Shajahan has been caged she has managed to find a proper replacement, who has the chargesheeted credentials of being abusive toward women?”

Considered to be close to Union home minister Amit Shah five years ago, Mukut Mani had contested the 2021 Assembly elections on a BJP ticket from Nadia’s Ranaghat South.

In his affidavit filed before the state election commission in 2021, two columns were blank. One concerning his spouse and the other on criminal cases against him.

Two years later, Mukut Mani got married and also had cases filed against him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, like the 498A (cruelty to women), 406 (breach of trust), 506 (criminal intimidation), 503 (threat to physical harm), 385 (extortion) and 34 (common intention), along with his father and brother.

The complaint was lodged by Mukut Mani’s wife with the Tiljala police station on June 7, 2023. The couple got married on May 28 the same year.

Soon after the police complaint, Mukut Mani, along with the others named in the FIR, went into hiding for a while.“Later he attended some of the sessions but kept a low profile,” said a BJP lawmaker.

On Thursday, Mukut Mani cited “development” as the reason behind his decision to switch camps.“For the last five years people of Nadia have been deprived. They have not received any service. That is why I made this decision,” he said at the end of the rally.

The BJP had nominated Mukut Mani for the Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat. Then employed with the state’s premier hospital SSKM, Mukut Mani had resigned but the state health department had refused to accept it. He was replaced by Jagannath Sarkar, who went on to win the Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat. Insiders in the BJP said Mukut Mani, who belongs to the Matua community, had played a huge role in swinging Matua votes from the Trinamul to the BJP.

In 2021, Mukut Mani, who had started private practice, won the Ranaghat South seat with a comfortable margin.“Nobody knew that the BJP had an MLA from Ranaghat South. Now his name is well known,” said CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty.

Chakraborty said Trinamul and BJP had reduced politics to a farce in the state.

“Switching from Trinamul to BJP, BJP to Trinamul is like changing rooms in the same house,” Chakraborty said. “One can be a Trinamul member while in BJP and vice versa. If the interests are not served in Trinamul they can join BJP or the reverse. This is what is going on in Bengal.”