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West Bengal\u00a0BJP\u00a0president\u00a0Samik\u00a0Bhattacharya\u00a0holds the party\u2019s flag as former\u00a0Trinamool\u00a0Congress MPs\u00a0Sushmita\u00a0Dev,\u00a0Sukhendu\u00a0Sekhar\u00a0Ray, and\u00a0Prakash\u00a0Chik\u00a0Baraik\u00a0join his party, in Kolkata.
\n | Photo Credit: ANI<\/p>\n
Days after the\u00a0Bharatiya\u00a0Janata\u00a0Party (BJP) swept the West Bengal Assembly poll in 2026, winning 207 of the 293 seats, West Bengal\u00a0BJP\u00a0president\u00a0Samik\u00a0Bhattacharya\u00a0made a bold political claim. \u201cOur doors are closed for\u00a0Trinamool. There will be no \u2018Trinamoolification\u2019 of the\u00a0BJP,\u201d\u00a0Mr. Bhattacharya\u00a0had said. The 62-year-old leader, who had been a foot soldier of the party when its vote share was in single digits in West Bengal was among the first to use the phrase, \u2018Trinamoolification\u00a0of the\u00a0BJP\u2019.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t know then that on the afternoon of July 9, he would be handing out lotus-insignia party flags to three former\u00a0Trinamool\u00a0Congress (TMC) MPs at the\u00a0BJP\u00a0office in Kolkata\u2019s Salt Lake area. The three MPs were\u00a0Sukhendu\u00a0Sekhar\u00a0Ray,\u00a0Sushmita\u00a0Dev, and\u00a0Prakash\u00a0Chik\u00a0Baraik. They had been nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the\u00a0Trinamool\u00a0Congress, and had resigned after the party suffered an electoral setback in the Assembly poll. When in the\u00a0Trinamool, they had publicly criticised the\u00a0BJP.<\/p>\n
Within hours of\u00a0Mr. Bhattacharya\u00a0welcoming the\u00a0Trinamool\u00a0leaders into the\u00a0BJP\u00a0fold, the party announced that the former\u00a0Trinamool\u00a0MPs were to be renominated to the Upper House with the support of newly elected\u00a0BJP\u00a0legislators.\u00a0Mr. Bhattacharya\u00a0tried to defend opening doors for the\u00a0Trinamool\u00a0leaders by saying that the decision was in national interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cSyama\u00a0Prasad\u00a0Mookerjee\u00a0has taught us that the party is bigger than an individual, and the nation is bigger than the party,\u201d he said, trying hard to say that inducting the three leaders into the party was an \u201cexception\u201d.<\/p>\n