At minister’s turf in East Burdwan, 200 families join JUP

In the stronghold of state minister Swapan Debnath, members of around 200 families have left the Trinamul Congress to join Humayun Kabir’s Janta United Party (JUP). This marks the second such development in the Purbasthali blocks of East Burdwan within a fortnight.

The newly-floated JUP organised a meeting at Kanthalberia village under the Kalekhantalla–I Gram Panchayat in the Purbasthali (Dakshin) Assembly constituency, which has elected Mr Debnath for the past 15 years. Responding to a call from JUP leader Pankaj Ganguly, several youths and middle-aged residents joined the party on Sunday evening.

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Former TMC supporters from Kanthalberia, including Riaz Sheikh and Pappu Ghosh, alleged: “The minister has secured his own gains over the years and paid no attention to our problems. So we responded to Mr Ganguly’s call.”

Mr Ganguly claimed that the party is gaining momentum in the Kalna sub-division, particularly among deprived communities.

On 9 February, JUP leader Baban Ghosh opened a party office in the neighbouring Purbasthali (Uttar) constituency, where at least 250 families reportedly joined the party.

However, Mr Debnath played down the political developments, stating: “Some new leaders are trying to misguide the youth. They will receive a proper reply.”