Last-min switch: Denied ticket, TMC MLA in BJP

Kolkata: Trinamool MLA Khagendra Nath Mahata from Gopiballavpur in Jhargram joined the BJP on Wednesday evening, hours before the constituency goes to polls. Mahata, a doctor, was denied a ticket by Trinamool for the 2026 elections.

"The party has broken the trust of the people in Jangalmahal. No decent neta can survive in it. I had become an MLA after leaving my job, but my trust was broken," he said.




Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who handed Mahata the party flag, said the switch was unconditional. "He called in the afternoon, conveyed his decision and had no conditions attached," Adhikari said.

Adhikari added that people in Jangalmahal were seeking jobs, healthcare and access to central schemes — not "dole" — and that Mahata had been inspired by development work in neighbouring Odisha.
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