Six Trinamul turncoats, including former minister Rajib Banerjee, joined the BJP at Amit Shah’s residence in Delhi late on Saturday after they took a chartered flight to the capital on the Union home minister’s “orders”.

“We have been handed over the BJP flag and formally inducted into the party by Amit Shah,” said Banerjee.

The others who joined the BJP with him were expelled Trinamul MLA Baishali Dalmia, former mayor of Howrah Rathin Chakraborty, MLA Prabir Ghoshal, former chairman of Ranaghat municipality Parthasarathi Chattopadhyay and actor Rudranil Ghosh.

“I am sure their induction will further strengthen the BJP’s fight for Sonar Bangla,” Shah said.

BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy and the party’s Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya, who accompanied five of the six inductees in a special flight to Delhi on Saturday, were present. Actor Ghosh did not take the flight to Delhi but was present at Shah’s home.

These inductions were to be held in Shah’s presence at a rally in Dumurjola on Sunday but he had to cancel his weekend Bengal visit on Friday. Union minister for textiles Smriti Irani will address the meeting at Dumurjola on Sunday. “Shah will address the rally at Dumurjola virtually,” Dalmia said outside Shah’s residence.