BJP state unit chief Sukanta Majumdar on Monday said his party was no longer interested in accepting "tainted" or senior Trinamul leaders, following lessons learned from the 2021 Assembly polls when dozens of leaders from Mamata Banerjee’s party joined the saffron camp.

“We are no longer interested in taking higher-ranked Trinamul leaders or MLAs in our party. We are more interested in welcoming lower-ranked Trinamul workers who want the betterment of Bengal. We also welcome CPM workers who have already understood that their leader (CPM general secretary) Sitaram Yechury, Mamata Banerjee and (the Congress’s) Rahul Gandhi are on the same page under the banner of the so-called INDIA alliance,” Majumdar said, answering a question on whether Trinamul leaders have started contacting them to join his party. The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance is a national bloc of anti-BJP parties.

“There is no result by taking tainted Trinamul Congress leaders. Last time, we burnt our hands and we learned a lesson following the experience. We are not ready to accept the tainted in the near future,” Majumdar added.

Before the 2021 Assembly polls, flocks of Trinamul leaders and MLAs, including the current leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, shifted to the BJP.

A source said 30-plus Trinamul MLAs and leaders, in the run-up to the Assembly election, had defected to the BJP, and the party had offered tickets to 13 of them. Many returned to Trinamul after its landslide victory.

A source said Majumdar’s comment was significant, as it proved that the BJP made a mistake by attempting to exponentially grow inorganically before the 2021 polls.

Trinamul did not miss the chance to counter the comment of Majumdar by pointing out that the BJP leader should first remove Adhikari, an accused in the alleged Saradha and Narada scams.

“He should first oust Suvendu Adhikari from his party, as he is accused of taking money publicly. It was the BJP that had officially shown a video of Adhikari accepting money and demanded a CBI probe. Before making lofty claims, he (Majumdar) should take action against him (Adhikari), the one who is always seated beside him,” said Kunal Ghosh, Trinamul state general secretary. “Nobody is ready to join the BJP after seeing its debacle in the 2021 polls. All have come to know that the BJP has no future in Bengal,” he added.