BJP leader Rajib Banerjee on Saturday arrived at Trinamool Congress’s state secretary Kunal Ghosh’s residence in Kolkata amid speculations that he might rejoin his old party.

Talking to the media after the visit, Rajib called it “a courtesy meeting” adding “there is no politics in this.”

On being asked whether he is going to join the TMC, Banerjee said there were no such talks and stressed that he is still in Bharatiya Janata Party.

His absence at recent BJP meetings sparked rumours

The absence of Rajib Banerjee at the recent meeting of the party’s West Bengal unit sparked rumours in state politics.

Mukul Roy and Shamik Bhattacharya were the other two leaders missing from the party.

Banerjee had resigned from the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and tendered his resignation letter to TMC supremo in January.

Before resigning from the party he stepped down as state forest minister and also tendered his resignation from the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.

Rajib Banerjee’s Facebook post added fuel to the fire

His recent Facebook post titled ‘There has been enough criticism’ added fuel to the fire in which he said that “to criticise a government which came to power with a massive public mandate and to oppose its Chief Minister, repeated reference to Delhi (Centre) and Article 356 will not go down well with the people of Bengal.”

It is our duty to rise above politics and fight together for the people of the state in the hard times of COVID-19 and Yaas, he wrote.

On Friday, Mukul Roy joined the TMC along with his son in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee and other party leaders.

Interacting with the media, Mamata Banerjee claimed that more leaders from the BJP will come back to join Trinamool in the coming days.

Reacting to Roy’s exit, state unit president Dilip Ghosh asserted that the move will have no impact on his organisation.