BJP will come into power in West Bengal in 2019, says Mukul Roy

Ahead of bypolls in West Bengal, newly joined BJP leader Mukul Roy said the saffron party will come into power in the state in 2019.

Making scathing remarks against CM Mamta Banerjee, Roy said, "In Bengal, Durga Puja and Laxmi Puja were stopped. Mamata Banerjee is playing minority politics." Bypolls to two Assembly seats in West Bengal will be held in November. According to reports, Roy's focus is on Uluberia Lok Sabha constituency in Howrah that is vacant following the demise of Trinamool MP Sultan Ahmed, and two assembly constituencies - Sabang in Paschim Midnapore and Noapara in North 24 Parganas.

Roy joined BJP after he was suspended from the TMC for six years for indulging in "anti-party activities". He had announced on September 25 that he would quit the party. The TMC had accused him of hobnobbing with the BJP. Roy was once the second-in-command in the TMC after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Subsequently, Roy had described the BJP as a secular party and said the TMC would not have tasted success without the backing of the saffron outfit at the national level in its initial years.