BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy rejoined the Trinamool Congress on Friday, over three and a half years after he had joined the saffron party with much fanfare. 

Roy's move is another blow to the BJP that had aggressively fought the recently concluded assembly elections but failed to oust the Trinamool Congress or Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. 

Once a poster boy of the BJP in West Bengal, Roy was sidelined after another high-profile Trinamool Congress leader Suvendu Adhikari joined the saffron party just before the assembly elections. 

Roy had maintained a distance from the BJP after the results and even skipped it's crucial meeting on June 8.

His rejoining is part of a series of post-poll developments that saw several BJP leaders and Trinamool Congress turncoats requesting Banerjee to forgive and take them back in her party. 

Once number two in the Trinamool Congress, Roy had joined the BJP in November 2017 following differences with the Chief Minister on several issues and also over the prominence given to her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. 

The same Abhishek played a key role in getting Roy back in the Trinamool Congress. 

The ice was broken when Abhishek visited the hospital to enquire about the health condition of Roy's wife who was being treated for Covid-19.

The BJP tried to do damage control and its West Bengal President Dilip Ghosh too went to the hospital but it was too late by then. 

Roy's son Subhranshu had by now become a fan of Abhishek and waxed eloquent about him. 

Apart from Roy, two other BJP heavyweights Shamik Bhattacharya and Rajib Banerjee also skipped the meeting and appeared to be heading back to their former party. 

The developments are not new to West Bengal politics as such crossovers were frequently seen during the three-decade-long Left rule also. 

Roy's move is a big setback to the BJP that had emerged as the main opposition party in West Bengal. There are possibilities that more BJP leaders would follow him given that there is a visible anger against the saffron party on the ground.

The Trinamool Congress is also gaining a lot of sympathy and support due to Governor Jagdeep Dhankar's moves.