Baishali Dalmiya | Photo: Official Facebook Page
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Kolkata: One hour after West Bengal’s Forest Minister Rajib Banerjee resigned from the Mamata Banerjee cabinet, his colleague Baishali Dalmiya, an MLA from Howrah District, was expelled from the Trinamool Congress for “anti-party” activities. Baishali is one of the rare female leaders who were expelled from the party before resigning.
Baishali, the daughter of former ICC and BCCI President, the late Jagmohan Dalmiya, joined TMC in 2016 after being approached by Prime Minister Mamata Banerjee. Five years later, Baishali said she was “disaffected” with Mamata and her group.
She is likely to join the BJP in the presence of the Union Interior Minister Amit Shah on his upcoming visit to Calcutta on January 30th.
Speaking to The Print, Baishali said she joined the Trinamool “not to steal from people” but “to work,” adding that there were “termites” in the party.
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“Termites Kill TMC”
Baishali was inducted and inducted into the Trinamool Congress by Mamata during a political program in Calcutta ahead of the 2016 general election and selected from the constituency of the Bally Assembly of Howrah District.
“I had nothing to gain and nothing to lose. I wanted to work for people and so I accepted Mamata Banerjee’s suggestion to join politics. The constituency was tough to crack and CPM had a strong support base there. I was new to politics but was used against the former Left Front government minister, Anjan Bera, an experienced politician. I followed the party’s instructions and won and defeated him by almost 15,000 votes, “she said.
“Since then, in the past five years, I’ve seen a few termites kill the party. I was expelled for anti-party activities, but I don’t know what anti-party activities I indulged in. I just said that there is a group of people who defame and humiliate the party. Was it anti-party? “, She asked.
Baishali also alleged that she had not received any written notice or communication from the party, even though it had been 24 hours since media reports told her that she was expelled.
However, Arup Roy, minister and Trinamool, in charge of Howrah County, said the party made the right decision in expelling them. “These people mean nothing to the party. You are new to politics and haven’t done anything worth mentioning for the party. They did not make a sacrifice like us. You can say many things, but these will not do any harm to the party. “
“Wasn’t approached by BJP”
When asked if she would join the BJP, Baishali said, “I have been loyal to the Trinamool Congress. But I suffocated there. Now I am free and can be approached by any party. I will stay in politics and make an appropriate decision to be with people. I have not yet received a call from any BJP leader. “
However, sources close to her said she will likely be joining the saffron party soon. Regarding Rajib Banerjee’s decision to leave the party, she said: “Rajib da is one of the few gentlemen in the party. He is an educated and disciplined person. But I saw him being molested. I didn’t come to Trinamool to steal. I’ve seen all the government funds allocated to Amphan aid withdrawn. Nothing reached the people. I sent a list of 600 people whose homes were damaged. None of them received government support. People won’t forget that. “
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Association with Sourav Ganguly
Baishali also denied allegations that she had consulted BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on political matters.
“There are some people who live their lives as creepers. They think everyone is like them. I am not a creeper. I make my own decisions. We have been family friends for generations, but we are both independent entities, ”she said.
Baishali’s brother Abhishek, a businessman and Dalmia’s younger son, was elected unopposed candidate as the youngest president of the Cricket Association Bengal (CAB) in February 2020.
Regarding speculation about Ganguly’s accession to the BJP, she said: “As I said, we have our different identities. I don’t know what his decision to join politics would be. But I know a section in Trinamool is concerned about Sourav joining BJP. But I can say that Trinamool will be ready when he does. Bengal’s love for Sourav is always greater than any politics. “
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