Kolkata, May 1 (IANS): In a major embarrassment to the Trinamool Congress, the party’s state General Secretary Kunal Ghosh shared the dais with BJP candidate from Kolkata-Uttar Lok Sabha constituency, Tapas Roy, on Wednesday and described him as an “ideal” politician and candidate.

The occasion was a blood donation camp in North Kolkata where both Tapas Roy and Kunal Ghosh were present.

When the turn for Ghosh to deliver his lecture came, he praised Tapas Roy, who resigned from the Trinamool Congress before joining BJP earlier this year. Roy was the Trinamool MLA.

“I have nothing new to say about Roy as an elected public representative. He had always been in public service when he was an elected representative. His doors were always open for the people. We wanted to retain him in our family. But unfortunately, we could not. Today he is a candidate from the opposing party. We will work for our party candidate, while the activists of Roy’s party will work for him,” commented Ghosh with Roy sitting behind with a smile on his face.

What Ghosh said next was even more significant as he issued his appeal to his own party workers in Kolkata-Uttar not to resort to malpractices on polling day. “There should not be any election malpractice here. Let the people decide who is an ideal candidate. Let them vote according to their own choices,” said Ghosh.

Since the time Roy left Trinamool Congress, Ghosh had been critical of a section of his own party leadership. He had been claiming constantly that it was unfortunate for the party to have lost an important and dedicated leader like Roy.

However, his public statements on Wednesday and that too from a dais where Roy was himself present are bound to pose more embarrassment to the Trinamool Congress. Till the time the report was filed, there was no reaction from any other ruling party leader.