107 MLAs, majority from TMC, to join BJP 'very soon' in West Bengal: Mukul Roy
Kolkata, Jul 13: Senior BJP leader Mukul Roy Saturday claimed that nearly 107 MLAs, a majority of them from the ruling TMC in West Bengal, are in touch with the saffron party and are likely to join it "very soon".
Several Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, both at the state and district levels, have lost confidence in the Mamata Banerjee-led party and are fed up with the way it is functioning, he told a group of reporters here.
"Nearly 107 MLAs are in touch with us. Majority of them are from the TMC. Few are from the Congress and the CPI(M). They are willing to join the saffron camp very soon," Roy said.
He, however, did not provide any further details.
Roy's comments comes amid several TMC councillors returning to the party after switching to the BJP.
Since the Lok Sabha poll results, in which the BJP won 18 out of the 42 parliamentary seats in the state, six TMC MLAs and one each from the Congress and the CPI(M) switched to the saffron party.
Roy, a former TMC leader who joined the saffron camp in 2017 following differences with Banerjee, also mocked the Trinamool Congress over it appointing political strategist Prashant Kishor.
"The appointment of Prashant Kishor is an ample evidence that the TMC has lost confidence in the so called charisma of Mamata Banerjee. That is why it needs a political strategist to save its sinking ship," he said.
Kishor recently held a series of meetings with Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee over the TMC's performance in the Lok Sabha polls and on the ways to revive it ahead of the 2021 West Bengal assembly polls.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th Saudi Pro League goal
Riyadh (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Saudi Pro League goal as Al-Nassr beat Al-Shabab 4-2 to move five points clear at the top of the table.
The 41-year-old forward converted a Sadio Mané cross at the near post with 15 minutes remaining to record the 971st goal of his career on Thursday. It was also his 26th league goal of the season.
“Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today,” Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said.
João Félix, signed from Chelsea in July, scored three goals for the league leaders.
The win took Al-Nassr to 82 points from 32 games, five ahead of Al-Hilal, which has three matches, one more than Nassr, left to play. Al-Hilal meets Al-Kholood on Friday and faces Nassr on Tuesday in what could be a title decider against its Riyadh rival.
“Now we have a derby match against our rival, which is a difficult encounter,” Jesus said.
“We are fully aware of its importance, and we are dealing with it with complete focus as we know that small details could decide the result.”
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has yet to secure a major trophy in Saudi Arabia since signing with Al-Nassr in December 2022.
