Kolkata, May 24 (IANS) Former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member and doctor Santanu Sen has congratulated and thanked the new BJP government in the state and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

He posted on social media on Saturday night, congratulating the new government on the steps being taken in the health sector.

Santanu was a Rajya Sabha member from Trinamool and was accused of making anti-party comments during the RG Kar movement. He was later suspended from the Trinamool. However, Santanu’s distance from Trinamool has further increased. His latest post congratulating the BJP has again made the Trinamool uneasy.

“As a long-time soldier of the medical movement, as the All India President of the Indian Medical Association and the current State Secretary of the Indian Medical Association Bengal State Branch, I express my sincere thanks, congratulations and gratitude to the newly elected BJP government of Bengal and its Honourable Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari for undertaking several development and public welfare projects in the health sector of the state,” Santanu wrote on social media.

He had supported the ‘Reclaim the Night’ event in the movement for justice in the rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Even Santanu’s wife was seen standing next to protesting junior doctors. He also had alleged corruption within the hospital administration.

Following a huge uproar within the party over his comments, he lost the post of Trinamool spokesperson. The Trinamool Disciplinary Committee suspended Santanu on charges of anti-party activities.

Santanu is known to be close to Abhishek Banerjee in Trinamool. Even when he was suspended from the party, he played an important role in the ‘Sebashray’ programme in Diamond Harbour, starting from providing doctors to managing the entire programme. Later, Santanu also played an important role in the ‘Sebashray’ in Nandigram. When the campaign for the 2026 Assembly elections was in full swing, Trinamool announced that Santanu’s suspension had been lifted. He was reinstated as the party spokesperson.

After the change in political power in the state, there is speculation that he wanted to send a message to the party by mentioning his position in the Indian Medical Association and congratulating Shuvendu Adhikari.

Reacting to this, Trinamool spokesperson Arup Chakraborty said, “The post that Santanu Sen made on Facebook was not made as a former Trinamool MP or a spokesperson for the party. He did it as an IMA office-bearer. He can do it.”

The BJP has formed the government in West Bengal for the first time after winning 207 seats in the Assembly elections.

–IANS

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