Mohan Sharma, a former district president of the Trinamul Congress in Alipurduar, who also headed the party’s trade union in tea gardens, joined the BJP on Friday.

Sharma was inducted into the BJP by Union home minister Amit Shah at a public meeting in the Kalchini block of the district on a day Trinamul supremo Mamata Banerjee launched her poll campaign in north Bengal.

“I was neglected and insulted in Trinamul. That is why I decided to quit the party. Along with me, two members of Alipurduar zilla parishad have also joined the BJP. I have 11 zilla parishad members with me and if Trinamul challenges tomorrow, I can prove my majority in the 18-seat zilla parishad,” said the former Trinamul leader who himself is a zilla parishad member.

He also said he would work as a common member of the BJP and strive to ensure that the party won all five Assembly seats in the Alipurduar district. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had led in all the five seats.

His defection, Trinamul insiders said, has come as a fresh poser for the party. This is because Sharma, who is based in Kalchini, is known to have considerable clout among the tea population of the district and is also popular among the Gorkhas who dwell in Alipurduar.

“In our district, there are three seats where residents of tea gardens decide the results. Also, in the remaining two seats, there are some tea gardens. Now that he will be fielded by the BJP to draw support from the tea belt, we will have to strive harder to revive our support,” said an insider.

Mridul Goswami, the district Trinamul chief, however, tried to put a brave face.

“Mohan Sharma was put in as many as nine government posts. We don’t know what made him take such a decision…. we will continue to work for the party and people will vote us as the BJP has not done anything for the district even after it got an MP from here, unlike the state government that has carried out a series of development works,” said Goswami.