Former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Saturday joined the Trinamool Congress in Kolkata. While it is not clear whether he will be participating in the upcoming multi-phased Assembly elections, the move has certainly set tongues wagging on social media.
But rather than Sinha himself, an existing party leader is now the focus of netizens' ire. Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy is facing a barrage of sarcastic queries from ordinary netizens as well as fellow BJP leaders in the wake of the news with many wondering if he will follow suit. The hashtag "IsSwamyjoiningTMC" has begun trending on Twitter as countless users weighed in on the topic, citing earlier remarks made by the politician to back their opinions.
In recent years Swamy has emerged a vocal critic of the current government, even as he remains a part of it. From questioning the Centre's decision to hold NEET and JEE exams amid the pandemic to taking potshots at Prime Minister Modi over his government's handling of the ongoing rift with China - Swamy has repeatedly made headlines for his stance. And as many online were quick to point out, he had also spoken out in support of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on several occasions.
Most recently, even as the BJP raised questions about Mamata's Nandigram 'attack', Swamy had called her office to convey his wishes for her speedy recovery. "I called up CM Mamataji's office to convey to the CM my best wishes and prayer for her earliest recovery," he tweeted hours after Banerjee was hospitalised. In all likelihood, Swamy is the only BJP leader to have done so.
But as eagle eyed netizens pointed out, this is not the first time that he had spoken out seeming in support of her. "Her politics is different. That we will fight in the maidan," he had remarked while talking about a problematic school text book in 2020.
"CM @MamataOfficial outstanding character is she keeps her word," he had tweeted in 2019 after Firhad Hakim resigned as the Chairman of the Tarakeshwar Temple Board in West Bengal.
Now, it would seem that those tweets have come back to haunt Swamy, as many including BJP leader Tajinder Bagga have taken to the microblogging platform sharing screengrabs and speculating about a possible shift.
