Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh.
| Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI
A day after he was denied the ticket from the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat, Arjun Singh said that he had been cheated by the Trinamool Congress (TMC), and it was a wrong decision on his part to quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and join the State’s ruling party.
“I was told at the last moment that I was not getting a ticket to contest [the 2024 Lok Sabha election]. If the party had told me earlier, I wouldn’t have gone [to the rally at the Brigade Parade Ground]. When I joined the TMC, I was told that I would get a ticket from Barrackpore. I am not a seasonal fruit. I am someone who works 12 months round-the-clock.” Mr. Singh told journalists.
The Trinamool Congress has nominated State Irrigation Minister and Naihati MLA Partha Bhowmick to contest from Barrackpore.
Mr. Singh joined the BJP in 2019 after he was denied a ticket by the Trinamool Congress and defeated ruling party’s candidate, Dinesh Trivedi. Mr. Singh, who has a significant influence in the jute belt of Barrackpore, returned to Trinamool Congress in May 2022. Speculation is rife that Mr. Singh may return to the BJP and contest from Barrackpore in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The BJP is yet to announce its candidate from the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat.
Senior West Bengal BJP leaders have started sending feelers to Mr. Singh. Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said that Mr. Singh defected to the Trinamool Congress due to fear of police cases, and that he (Mr. Adhikari) had advised him (Mr. Singh) against joining the Trinamool.
On Monday, senior Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim reached out to Mr. Singh. Though Mr. Singh peddled back his attack on the Trinamool Congress, he maintained that he would take his final decision after consulting his supporters.