Sovan Chatterjee
Speculations rife over Sovan Chatterjee's return to TMC, BJP leader Arvind Menon calls on him
Kolkata/UNI: With speculations rife over former Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee's comeback to his former party Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s national leader Arvind Menon called on him late last night and held a closed door meeting for hours.
The "unscheduled" meeting between the two BJP leaders happened on Monday, hours after West Bengal's ruling party TMC had asked Sovan's wife Ratna Chatterjee to refrain from the party's organisational activity at Ward No 131, also in South Kolkata.
Sovan Chatterjee, also an MLA, represents the ward as the Councillor.
The Chatterjees are having litigation for marital separation.
Ratna was TMC’s coordinator of the "Banglar Gorbo Mamata" programme in the Behala East constituency, where Sovon Chatterjee is the elected MLA.
She was asked to give up the responsibility.
Recently, she was asked to give up other party responsibilities in ward 131 of the area.
Sovan after resigning from the Mayoral post joined the BJP in 2019 along with his friend and close confidante Baisakhi Banerjee, but had been keeping a very low profile with the saffron brigade since then.
Rumours were going around and speculations were rife in the political circles in the past months that Sovan might return to the TMC, and party's top leaders had been making such efforts for long.
Sovan was also rumoured to have offered to return to TMC once the party removed Ratna Chatterjee from organisational work in the area.
It might be mentioned that party supremo Mamata Banerjee recently said those leaders, who have left her party, are welcome to rejoin.
She urged them to forget the past and work ahead for the future.
With Assembly elections in 2021, Banerjee wants to take on the BJP with leaders having power and authority and able to win votes for the party.
Latest report said Arvind Menon, also co-incharge of West Bengal, was seen returning from Sovan's residence around 11:30 pm after spending over two hours there in South Kolkata.
Though Menon was tight-lipped to a volley of queries of a few media persons there, the BJP leader said, "You would come to know what will happen shortly."
Sources in the political circles say the BJP was in favour of giving organisational power to the former Mayor ahead of 2021 Assembly polls in West Bengal.
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