Kolkata, February 22 Former Indian footballer-turned-politician and former MLA Dipendu Biswas rejoined the TMC on Sunday ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal, saying his brief association with the BJP was driven by "emotional factors".
Biswas, a former TMC MLA from Basirhat Dakshin and a renowned footballer who played for top city clubs in the 1990s and 2000s, formally returned to the Trinamool Congress at the party's Basirhat district office in the presence of local leaders.
Biswas had quit the TMC ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections after he was denied a ticket and subsequently joined the BJP.
Speculation is rife over whether his return links to a possible candidature in the 2026 Assembly polls. However, he dismissed such claims.
"I never really worked for the BJP. I joined them out of hurt feelings, but that association lasted very briefly. Had I ever been seen in any BJP programme?" he told reporters.
TMC sources said he distanced himself from the BJP long ago and had attended various TMC programmes over the past year-and-a-half in North 24 Parganas district.
Asked if he will be nominated this time, Biswas said, "At this moment, I will work for the party. No one has discussed getting tickets. I will take on any responsibility leadership assigns."
Along with Biswas, several leaders and workers from the Congress, CPI(M), and BJP, including a block-level Congress functionary from Basirhat, also joined the TMC on Sunday.
Biswas had contested the 2014 bypoll from Basirhat Dakshin on a TMC ticket but lost narrowly. He later won the seat in the 2016 Assembly elections as a TMC candidate.
Biswas returned to the TMC a day after CPI(M) state committee member Pratikur Rahman left the party and joined the TMC in the presence of party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
