Kolkata, February 19 Rebel BJP MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma joined the ruling TMC in West Bengal on Thursday ahead of the assembly elections.
Sharma, a first-time MLA from Kurseong, joined the party at its headquarters in Kolkata, signaling a shift in the Darjeeling Hills before the assembly polls, which are expected to be held in the next two months.
He was welcomed to the TMC by Education Minister Bratya Basu and Industry Minister Shashi Panja.
Sharma said he would work for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's "development model".
"I was elected by my Gorkha brothers and sisters, but I have not been able to work for them. The BJP made promises but did nothing. There was no real work on the ground," he said.
Sharma had repeatedly voiced support for the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state, arguing that the Hills require focused administrative attention and development.
He had also at times raised the pitch for a separate North Bengal state, insisting that regional aspirations were not being adequately addressed.
Sharma had publicly criticised the BJP several times in the past, and staged a demonstration outside the assembly over what he described as inaction on the demand for Gorkhaland.
He contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as an Independent from the Darjeeling seat, projecting himself as the "son-of-the-soil". However, this bid failed to gain traction, with the BJP's Raju Bista retaining the seat.
Downplaying his joining the TMC, BJP chief whip in the assembly, Shankar Ghosh, said Sharma had no support base in his constituency and had not been in touch with the party for a long time.
"His joining the TMC will have no impact on the BJP in the Hills," Ghosh, the MLA of Siliguri, claimed.
Elections to the 294-member assembly are expected to be held in the next two months, with the term of the present House expiring in May.