Several Trinamul leaders who had defected to the BJP before the Assembly polls now intend to rejoin Mamata Banerjee’s party.
Among them are Sonali Guha, a four-time legislator from Satgachia (in South 24-Paraganas), Sarala Murmu, a Zilla Parishad member of Malda, and Amal Acharya, a former Trinamul MLA of Itahar in neighbouring North Dinajpur.
Guha, who had been with Mamata since the early days of Trinamul, and had left the party when she was denied a ticket to Satgachia this time, on Saturday wrote a fervent appeal to Mamata.
The veteran leader, who has also shared her letter on social media, lamented her decision to leave Trinamul.
Sarala Murmu File picture
“Like a fish cannot stay out of water, I would not be able to live without you, Didi. I urge you to forgive me and if you don’t, I won’t be able to live. Please let me come back and I will spend the rest of my life with your affection,” says Guha's letter.
Sarala Murmu, a Zilla Parishad member of Malda, who had set an unprecedented example ahead of the polls by being the only one who left Trinamul even after the party announced her name as the candidate of Habibpur seat in Malda, now wants to leave the BJP and return to Trinamul.
Murmu, sources said, had demanded that she be allowed to contest from another seat, which was her reason to leave Trinamul.
On Sunday, Murmu, while speaking to newspersons in Malda, apologised to Mamata.
“It (leaving Trinamul for the BJP) was a mistake on my part and I request Didi to pardon me. If she accepts me back, I will continue to function as a dedicated worker of Trinamul in the coming days. I want to pass this message to her through the media,” she said.
Amal Acharya, a former Trinamul MLA of Itahar in the neighbouring North Dinajpur district who joined the BJP one-an-half months back, has also sent a written application to the Trinamul leadership, requesting his induction.
“BJP is acting in a vindictive manner, as was evident from the recent arrests of two state ministers, a senior MLA and a former MLA. I do not want to continue in this party. Trinamul is my place to work,” said Acharya, who is also a former Trinamul president of the district.
A photograph of the chief minister was also found placed prominently at his office in Itahar.
Such impassioned overtures by the turncoats have led to plenty of witty discussions among Trinamul insiders, sources said.
“These (turncoats) are the same people who till very recently fumed at our party leaders. These days, their political reliability is low. It is a pity that they realised their mistakes now. We doubt if the party will make any immediate decision about them,” said a Trinamul insider.
A political observer said that many turncoats wanted to come back to Trinamul, but such moves put a question mark on their credibility.