BJP vs TMC face-off: Firhad Hakim asks Agnimitra Paul to switch parties; BJP leader fires back | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: TMC minister Firhad Hakim led to a heated discussion in the West Bengal Assembly Wednesday by inviting the BJP lawmaker Agnimitra Paulus to switch sides to the ruling party in the state. The comments, made during a discussion on ‘Constitution Day’ and against the backdrop of the TMC’s landslide by-election victory, drew sharp reactions from Paul, who accused the TMC of exhibiting a ‘mentality of domination’.
Hakim, who addressed the House, took the opportunity to take a jibe at the BJP over the by-election results. “So much mudslinging and false propaganda against the TMC, and yet the result is 6-0,” he said, referring to the TMC’s clean sweep in the by-polls.
He turned directly to Agnimitra Paul and said, “I have something to say to you. Many people have left your party and joined ours. Why don’t you do the same? If you don’t, you can even lose in your own party. constituency at the next election.”
Paul fired back with a defiant response. “I have a certain ideology and principles and that is why I am in the BJP,” she said.
“Through his comments, Firhad Hakim has once again exposed the dominant mentality of the TMC. He seems to have already assumed that I will lose in the 2026 election. If my party doesn’t give me a ticket, I won’t criticize it. I would advise Hakim to focus on respecting women and learning how to honor female opposition leaders,” Paul added.
According to news agency PTI, Paul had earlier criticized the state government for alleged constitutional violations. After her speech, Hakim launched his counterattack, inviting Paul to switch allegiances.
Paul, who won the Asansol South seat in the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections, was defeated in the 2022 Asansol Lok Sabha by-elections and in the 2024 general elections where she contested from Medinipur.
Former Union Minister Babul Supriyo and BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy, both of whom joined the TMC after the 2021 Assembly elections. In those elections, the BJP won 77 seats in the 294-member Assembly, but the number fell to 69 after several by-polls and defections.
In the bypolls, held on November 13, the TMC retained five of the six contested seats and wrested control of Madarihat from the BJP. The bypolls were a critical test for the ruling party, especially as protests over the RG Kar issue intensified.
Despite these challenges, the TMC emerged victorious in both rural and urban constituencies, maintaining its stronghold in South Bengal while making inroads in North Bengal, where the BJP had earlier won Madarihat in 2021.