BJP's 'Operation Lotus' fuels defections and leadership changes in West Bengal's TMC

Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Lok Sabha MP Saugata Roy alleged on June 14 that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is using its so‑called “Operation Lotus” to destabilise the party. Roy said the strategy “tempted and threatened the TMC people” and that “those who are weak—those lacking principles or whose convictions aren’t solid—have left,” calling the tactic an attack on Indian democracy.

In response to the defections, the TMC announced new appointments at a national working committee meeting in Kolkata, naming Arnab Banerjee as president of the Trinamool Youth Congress and MLA Kunal Ghosh as head of the North Kolkata organisational district.

Separately, West Bengal’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is pursuing a forged‑signature case linked to the appointment of the Leader of Opposition. The CID’s Special Investigation Team is expected to question TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and MLA Kunal Ghosh, after Banerjee was previously interrogated for several hours.