Mukul Roy held a meeting with Sabyasachi Dutta for over an hour
Senior BJP leader Mukul Roy on Friday met Bidhannagar mayor Sabyasachi Dutta at his residence, fuelling speculations that the senior Trinamool Congress leader might switch over to BJP ahead of the national elections.
Both Mr Roy and Mr Dutta refuted speculations and said it was just a courtesy visit.
Mr Roy, a former TMC leader who had crossed over to the BJP in 2017 over differences with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, went to Mr Dutta's residence late in the evening and held a meeting for more than two hours.
Mr Dutta, also a leader from Rajarhat Newtown, was known as a loyalist of Mr Roy during his days in the TMC. However, he stayed back in Ms Banerjee's party even as Roy became a rebel.
When contacted, Mr Roy told news agency PTI, "Sabyasachi is like my younger brother. I share personal bonding with his family. I just came to meet him to inquire about his well being."
Echoing Mr Roy, Mr Dutta said the BJP leader went to his residence to "inquire about my well being".
The Trinamool leadership, however, said they were keeping a close watch on the development.
Mr Dutta has considerable influence in North 24 Parganas' Dum Dum and Barasat Lok Sabha constituencies, both of which are adjacent to Kolkata.
Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation is the local governing body responsible for civic infrastructure of Salt Lake and Newtown satellite cities.
In the last two months, several TMC leaders, including sitting Lok Sabha leader from Bishnupur, Soumitra Khan, had switched over to the BJP.
The Trinamool Congress leadership off late has been reaching out to its disgruntled leaders to thwart any "poaching" bid by the BJP ahead of the general elections.