West Bengal: Rajib Banerjee has 'courtesy meeting' with TMC's Kunal Ghosh

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 12 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajib Banerjee met with Trinamool Congress's state general secretary Kunal Ghosh at the latter's residence here on Saturday.

The meeting comes after BJP's national vice president Mukul Roy on Friday returned to the TMC fold, after switching parties in the year 2017, triggering speculations that Banerjee too may return to the Trinamool Congress.

Banerjee, however, told reporters after the meeting that it was courtesy call and there was no politics in it.

"I came for a courtesy meeting. There is no politics in this. There were no such talks. I am still in the BJP," said Banerjee, who along with many others from the TMC had joined the BJP ahead of this year's assembly polls.

Ghosh also confirmed that "it was a courtesy meeting."

On June 8, Banerjee had skipped a BJP West Bengal unit meeting in Kolkata citing "personal reasons", sparking a buzz in state politics after the fierce battle between BJP and the TMC in the recent assembly election.

After BJP's rout in the April polls, several turncoat politicians expressed regret over their decision to quit the Mamata Banerjee-led party.

Banerjee had recently said people who had elected the state government back to power will not take it well if the threat of imposing the president's rule is constantly dangled to oppose the chief minister.

"Enough with the criticism. The people elected the government with a majority, they will not take it well if the threat of Section 365 is constantly dangled to oppose the chief minister," Banerjee had tweeted.

The BJP lost the polls but emerged as the second-largest party with 77 seats in the 294-member state assembly. Trinamool Congress registered a landslide victory winning 213 seats. (ANI)