Sujata Khan was also a BJP member and even shared the stage with PM Modi in the past.
Kolkata:
The wife of a BJP MP has joined Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, going upstream in a tidal wave of defections from the party to the BJP ahead of the state elections. Sujata Mondal Khan, who joined the Trinamool today, is the wife of Saumitra Khan, an MP from Bengal.
Saumitra Khan, earlier in the Trinamool, won in 2014 from the Bishnupur constituency. His wife Sujata is credited with his win in last year’s national election when he was barred by a court from entering his constituency Bishnupur as a condition for bail in a criminal case. She ran his campaign single-handedly and he won.
Sujata Khan was also a BJP member and even shared the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past.
“I want to breathe. I want respect. I want to be an able leader of an able party. I want to work with my beloved Didi,” the former teacher told reporters today.
On Saturday, the Trinamool suffered the worst exodus in its history as 35 leaders, including MLAs and an MP, crossed over to the BJP at Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally.
The defections come with just four months to the Bengal assembly election. Mamata Banerjee, aiming for a third straight term, is facing a mega challenge from the BJP, which has seen significant gains in the state since last year’s national election.
