Speculation about Varun Gandhi joining TMC

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which is reconfiguring its party organisation in Goa and Uttar Pradesh, is believed to be in talks with Bharatiya Janata Party’s Pilibhit MP, Varun Gandhi over the possibility of the latter joining the West Bengal-based party.
There is speculation that Varun Gandhi may join the TMC during Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee’s visit to the national capital next week. There is also speculation that even his mother, BJP’s Sultanpur MP, Maneka Gandhi may join the TMC. A top TMC leader said on Saturday that Mamata Banerjee’s forthcoming visit to Delhi would prove to be “very significant” for national politics.
According to political circles, the relationship between Varun Gandhi and the BJP central leadership has turned bitter. He and his mother have been dropped from the BJP’s national executive committee. Varun Gandhi had condemned the killing of farmers in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. According to political sources, he will need a new political platform if he leaves the BJP, but it is unlikely that he will go to the Congress. Even if he is inducted in the Congress, it is unlikely that his mother will find a place there. Sources say that is why he is looking at the TMC. Sources also say that if Varun Gandhi joins the TMC now, and not ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, it will be because the TMC is trying to become a player in certain areas of Uttar Pradesh, specifically in the Assembly constituencies that come under Pilibit and Sultanpur Lok Sabha seats, ahead of next year’s Assembly elections in the state. This is part of the Opposition game plan to try and corner the BJP in its biggest must-win state. The UP results will set the tone and tenor for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Apart from Varun Gandhi, Danish Ali, BSP MP from Amroha too is on the list of possible inductees to the Trinamool Congress. Last year, BSP chief Mayawati removed him from the post of her party’s Lok Sabha leader because of differences with him.