The BJP has said many Trinamul Congress ministers, MPs and MLAs are in the queue to join the saffron party, but there will be a proper screening to ensure that no leader with the stain of “cut money” is inducted.

“Many ministers, MPs and MLAs are in the queue to join the BJP. But we must remain cautious and ensure that no cut-money-wallahs join us. We have to do a proper screening of these leaders before they are allowed to join,” Kailash Vijayvargiya, the Bengal minder of the BJP, said at an internal meeting of the party’s MPs, MLAs and district presidents to discuss the membership drive in the state.

Asserting that the BJP was being perceived as an alternative political force in Bengal, Vijayvargiya said: “The new MPs and MLAs and those elected to civic and rural bodies should not show arrogance in their behaviour and rather take a humble approach while dealing with the public.”

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said party workers should approach people from all walks of life and every community during the membership drive.

“We have to ensure that BJP karyakartas (workers) are available at every booth in the state and to do so, you cannot afford to distance yourself from any community and section of the society,” he said.

While referring to the post-poll violence, Ghosh was in tears and said with a choked voice: “I feel bad that I have to frequently place wreaths over dead party workers. Their sacrifice gave us 18 seats.”