Kolkata: Ahead of the Assembly elections, Aruna Mardi, who claims to be the wife of BJP‘s two-time Malda North MP and state tribal front president Khagen Murmu, joined Trinamool on Wednesday, triggering speculation about shifting political equations in the district.Aruna formally joined the party at Trinamool Bhavan in Kolkata, where she was handed the party flag in the presence of education minister Bratya Basu and forest minister Birbaha Hansda. The party described her induction as politically significant, citing her familiarity with and influence within the tribal community.Khagen Murmu has won the unreserved Malda North Lok Sabha seat twice — in 2019 and 2024 — securing over five lakh votes on both occasions and maintaining a lead of more than 70,000 votes over his nearest Trinamool rivals.Explaining her decision, Aruna said she was drawn to the leadership of chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. “I was associated with the CPM and the BJP as well, but I did not get much space there. I want to work more for SC and ST women and that is why I joined this party,” she said.
