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Who is Arjun Singh, the BJP MP who made 'ghar wapsi' to TMC?

In many ways, it was 'ghar wapsi' of sorts for Arjun Singh who had left TMC and joined the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Who is Arjun Singh, the BJP MP who made 'ghar wapsi' to TMC?
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Kolkata, First Published May 22, 2022, 7:31 PM IST

Dealing a major blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal, the party's state unit vice president Arjun Singh quit and joined the Trinamool Congress on Sunday.

In many ways, it was 'ghar wapsi' of sorts for Singh who had left TMC and joined the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Singh rejoined Mamata Banerjee's party in the presence of the party's general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata.

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Singh's exit comes after a day after the West Bengal BJP vice-president lashed out at the state leadership for 'not allowing him to work properly' despite holding a senior position in the party. After joining the TMC, Singh said TMC's development agenda was worth appreciating. He claimed that the BJP's influence was limited to Facebook and other social media platforms. He further said that BJP is losing out at the grassroots level as their leaders are sitting in air-conditioned rooms.

Let's take a look at who Arjun Singh is and why his exit from BJP could have repercussions.

* Arjun Singh is MP from Barrackpore. He won the 2019 election while contesting on a BJP ticket.

* Arjun Singh started his political career with the Congress, being elected as a councillor in the Bhatpara Municipality Election. 

* He left the Congress and switched over to the TMC ahead of the 2001 state assembly election. He entered the state assembly after defeating CPI-M candidate Ramprasad Kundu.

* In 2019, the then Bhatpara legislator jumped to the BJP and fought the Lok Sabha elections from Barrackpore. He defeated sitting TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi to win the parliamentary seat.

* Singh was also the BJP's observer for the Bhawanipore assembly by-poll in Kolkata where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was contesting from.

* After becoming a BJP MP, Singh made multiple allegations against the Trinamool. He also alleged a plot to assassinate him.

* After the BJP was defeated in the assembly polls, he was gradually cornered. For the last two months, BJP MP had been vocal about the Centre's jute policy.

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