Trinamul MLA and former Bidhannagar mayor Sabyasachi Dutta, who had often criticised Mamata Banerjee, joined the BJP on Tuesday in the presence of party chief Amit Shah.

Dutta — the eighth Trinamul MLA to defect this year — was hugged by Shah at the event in Netaji Indoor Stadium. “You have cooled down Kashmir. Bengal is not cool, cool it down,” Dutta said in a speech addressed to Shah.

Trinamul secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said Dutta’s exit “makes no difference”.