BJP leader Varun Gandhi likely to meet Mamata Banerjee in Delhi, fuels switch talks

Varun Gandhi is likely to meet TMC chief Mamata Banerjee next week in Delhi, however, there is no confirmation of him joining the latter`s party yet.

Kolkata: After Sushmita Dev, Babul Supriyo, Luizinho Faleiro and Leander Paes, there are strong indications that BJP MP Varun Gandhi might jump ship and join the Trinamool Congress.

It is likely that Varun Gandhi might meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the latter`s visit to the national capital next week.

Though there has been no official confirmation about Maneka Gandhi`s son joining the Trinamool, according to a senior party leader, the Chief Minister`s visit to Delhi next week is going to be `very significant` and might have some `surprises` as well.

However, it is still not clear whether the BJP leader will join the Trinamool during Banerjee`s Delhi visit, or later.

Without making any direct statement on the matter, a senior Trinamool leader said, "Leaders who are angry with the BJP but have no way to go to the Congress, are contacting Trinamool. At the moment, it is clear that Mamata and Trinamool can play the biggest role in stopping (Narendra) Modi."

Recently, BJP had dropped Varun Gandhi and his mother Maneka Gandhi from the party`s national working committee, and the Gandhi family junior is reportedly looking for a political platform.

Varun Gandhi had also condemned the killing of farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri, indicating that his ties with the saffron camp have turned sour.

Political experts believe that cornered by the BJP, he would be looking for a stable platform and in that case, Trinamool Congress could be the best alternative.

"Varun Gandhi cannot go to the Congress. So he would be looking at a party that can give him a national platform. With Trinamool Congress trying to increase its presence nationally, it would also be interesting to include a person who has national acceptability. And in that case, it will be a win-win situation for all," a senior Trinamool leader told IANS on condition of anonymity.

There are also indications that Danish Ali, who had switched to the BSP from JD-S in 2019, might join Trinamool because of his differences with party supremo Mayawati. Last year, Mayawati had removed Ali from the post of Lok Sabha leader due to differences with him.

According to official sources, Mamata Banerjee might go to Delhi on November 22 and return on November 25. During her two-day stay in the national capital, she might meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discuss the pending issues.

Sources in the Chief Minister`s Office indicated that the discussion between Banerjee and Modi might revolve around the state`s pending financial dues and the recent extension of BSF`s jurisdiction in the state from 15 km to 50 km from the international borders.

The Chief Minister is also likely to meet the leaders of the opposition parties, including interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi.