BALURGHAT: At least 200 families joined the state Trinamool Congress from BJP in presence of district party youth president Ambarish Sarkar on Sunday afternoon. The joining took place in Gangarampurs Sukdevpur. Sarkar handed over the party flags to them. Sarkar said the families were supporters of Trinamool for a long time but before the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, they left the party and joined the saffron brigade. "BJP had forced the families to switch sides by intimidating them but could not hold on to them for long. We are happy to take them back as they are our old soldiers," he said. "It was our big mistake to quit Trinamool. Our state is being developed everyday by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Since coming to power in 2011, she has concentrated only for the development of Bengal," they said. "When the whole country is struggling with COVID-19 pandemic, the BJP leaders are busy with the making of new Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The BJP leaders have cheated the people of India. Their only principle is to divide people in the name of religion. The development always takes a backseat in BJP ruling states and centre," they added. The political observers feel this joining would strengthen the base of the Trinamool.

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