Agartala, July 29: Ending all speculation, Subal Bhowmik, who already served some anti-left parties with short tenures and left a sign of impatience, has now started another political innings with Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday.

Every time he switched over any political party, he expected something good but the sad part is that he was always disappointed. Similar was the experience during his tenure with the BJP.

On Thursday, he was welcomed by five TMC leaders- Bratya Basu, Moloy Ghatok, Derek O’Brien, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Ritabrata Banerjee, who came from West Bengal, in a city hotel.

Soon after joining the TMC, confident Bhowmik said, the BJP government would be ousted from power in the 2023 assembly polls.

However, as the TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee continues to send party heavyweight leaders to Tripura following the I-PAC issue, it seems she is determined to make in-roads in the state.

Two more West Bengal TMC leaders—Derek O’Brien and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar have arrived in Agartala on Thursday to further the party's campaign over the I-PAC team’s detention row.

TMC’s All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee was also scheduled to arrive in the state on Friday but his visit was deferred on Monday since the weekend curfew would be in force in the state on Saturday and Sunday, said O’Brien during the joining programme.

He said total 40 leaders from different levels had joined the TMC on Thursday but there was presence of only seven persons including Bhowmik due to Covid restrictions.

“The TMC leaders who are now camping in the state would hold a series of meetings as well as look after the party’s organizational activities,” he told a press conference and also hinted that some joining programmes were scheduled to take place.

Addressing the press conference here in the city, O’Brien accompanied by other TMC leaders said the BJP had faced massive defeat in West Bengal even after using all forces including phone tapping.

He said the TMC leaders were sent to Tripura by the party supremo since the I-PAC issue was serious. “Trinamool Congress will form the next government in Tripura”, this message is already in the air everywhere, he said.

TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who came here next to O’Brien, said the players and the field were already ready for the Khela (game) in Tripura. She said, deprived by the BJP government, now the people of Tripura are looking for Mamata model for development in true sense.

Apart from Bhowmik, the other leaders who were present in the joining programme included Prakash Das (ex-minister), Idrich Miah (ex PCC vice president), Panna Deb (AICC member), Tapan Dutta (district congress president), and Premtosh Debnath.

Meanwhile, earlier on Thursday, the 23 I-PAC members, who were allegedly detained by Tripura Police in a hotel of Agartala citing Covid norms on Sunday night, surrendered before a local court on Thursday as they were summoned to appear before police following an FIR registered against them.

All of them were granted bail by the court, senior lawyer Pijush Kanti Biswas told the media, adding that the I-PAC members would now file a case against the government for ‘harassing’ them.

“The I-PAC members had arrived in the state with Covid negative reports. But they were put under detention before the FIR was registered which amounts to harassment,” Biswas pointed out.

APP Bidyut Sutradhar said the FIR filed by Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Sadar against I-PAC team members was registered at East Agartala Police station under section 188 of IPC and 51(1)(b) of National Disaster Management Act (NDMA)- 2005.

“The Investigating Officer served them notice under Section 41(A) Cr.P.C. There was no apprehension of arrest but still they surrendered before the court and prayed for bail—the court allowed their bail plea since it was a bailable offence,” Sutradhar told the media.

SDPO Sadar Ramesh Yadav on Wednesday confirmed that as soon as the Covid test results of the 23 I-PAC members came negative, they were freed.

“They were not detained but asked to stay in the hotel until the test reports are available. After receiving the test reports, some of them already went out of the hotel and roamed around on Wednesday,” the police officer said.