Three Bengal BJP MPs in touch with us: TMC MP Saket Gokhale
Kolkata, Jun 11: Senior TMC leader Saket Gokhale on Tuesday claimed that three BJP MPs from West Bengal are in touch with the party and the saffron party's tally in Parliament would soon come down to 237.
The comments drew sharp reactions from the West Bengal BJP unit, which dubbed the claim as "baseless" and asserted that the state unit stands united.
The Trinamool Congress secured 29 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal.
The BJP, in contrast, faced a significant setback, dropping to 12 seats from the 18 it won in 2019.
"As of today, the numbers in the Lok Sabha are BJP: 240 INDIA: 237. Three BJP MPs in West Bengal are in touch with us and there will be a nice surprise soon. After that, BJP: 237 INDIA: 240.
"Modi's creaky coalition is a temporary structure which isn't going to last very long," Gokhale, a Rajya Sabha MP, posted on X.
In the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls, the BJP with 240 seats fell short of a majority but the NDA secured the mandate with 293 seats. The Congress bagged 99 seats while the INDIA bloc got 234 seats. Following the polls, two Independents who won have also pledged support to the Congress, taking the INDIA bloc tally to 236.
Reacting to Gokhale's claim, BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said the TMC is "daydreaming".
"Since 2014, the TMC has been daydreaming of becoming the pivotal force in the union government but its hopes were dashed not once but thrice. The BJP and NDA stand united. No BJP MP from Bengal is in touch with the TMC," he said.
As of today, the numbers in the Lok Sabha are
— Saket Gokhale MP (@SaketGokhale) June 11, 2024
BJP: 240
INDIA: 237
3 BJP MPs in West Bengal are in touch with us & there will be a nice surprise soon.
After that,
BJP: 240
INDIA: 240
Modi’s creaky coalition is a temporary structure which isn’t going to last very long.
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Vartha Bharati awarded St Paul’s National Media Award for Excellence in Digital Journalism
Bengaluru: Vartha Bharati was honored with the St Paul’s National Media Award (SPNMA) 2025 for Excellence in Digital Journalism at a ceremony held on March 14, 2025, at St Pauls College, Bengaluru.
The award was presented to Abdussalam Puthige, Chief Editor of Vartha Bharati, in recognition of the media house’s contribution to digital journalism.
The event was attended by Prof. B K Ravi, Vice-Chancellor of Koppala University, Dr. Mamatha B R, retired IAS officer and State Information Commissioner, Ayesha Khanum, Chairperson of Karnataka Media Academy, Rev. Fr. Dr. Thomas M J, Chairman of the SPNMA Awards Committee and Principal of St Pauls College, and Dr. Prashanth Venugopal, Award Committee Coordinator and Head of Journalism & Mass Communication at St Pauls College.
