Bangshibadan Barman, who heads a faction of the Greater Cooch Behar Peoples’ Association (GCPA), joined the BJP in Calcutta on Tuesday.
Barman, who is still the chairman of the Rajbanshi development and cultural board formed by the state government and is believed to have a considerable clout among the Rajbanshi population of north Bengal, had backed the Trinamool Congress so far.
Barman, along with his close aide Girija Shankar Roy and Arghya Roy Pradhan, a Trinamool leader and an ex-MLA, joined the BJP in the presence of state party chief Samik Bhattacharya and Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition.
“Bangshibadan Barman, who has done a lot for the Rajbanshi community, is joining our party today. He will not contest the elections and has not asked for anything for himself. He has placed certain demands for the community and the region, which our party will duly consider,” said Adhikari.
Barman’s joining confirms a political realignment of two leaders in Cooch Behar. The other one is Nagendra Roy, aka Ananta Maharaj, a Rajya Sabha member of the BJP from Cooch Behar. He heads another faction of the GCPA.
Ananta, who was earlier with the BJP, was recently felicitated by the state government with its highest civilian award. Trinamool has also fielded Harihar Das, his close associate, in the Sitalkuchi seat of Cooch Behar.
“However, on Sunday, Ananta Maharaj had attended a high-level meeting of the BJP, which had led to confusion among both TMC and BJP leaders. But today, Bangshibadan Barman has confirmed that he will back the BJP, which definitely would boost the saffron camp,” said a political observer.
In his brief reaction, Barman said that he has joined the BJP as the party has assured him that the Centre would recognise the Rajbanshi language, which has been a longstanding demand of the community.
“Our language and culture have not flourished for years, and this time, we have got an assurance that the Rajbanshi language would be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. It is a major development for us, and thus, we have assured complete support to the BJP,” said the GCPA leader.
Adhikari also referred to Arghya Roy Pradhan, who had won from Tufanganj and Mekhliganj on the Trinamool ticket in the 2011 and 2016 Assembly polls. He is the son of veteran Forward Bloc MP Amar Roy Pradhan and had also been the district youth TMC president of Cooch Behar.
“I could no longer compromise with the party (Trinamool) because of the corruption, and could not reply to people when they questioned me on the issue. That is why I chose to join the BJP,” said Arghya.
Girindranath Barman, Trinamool’s chairman in Cooch Behar district, said: “It is a democratic country, and anybody can join any political party. But their joining will not affect our party in any manner.”
Senior BJP leaders, when contacted, declined to comment. “We have no idea what role these new entrants have been assigned for the polls,” said a senior functionary of the party.
Adhikari said: “The chief minister is in north Bengal today. The joining of these leaders is a gift to her from our side.”