Trinamool’s new entrants: Cricketer Manoj Tiwari, Actors Saayoni Ghosh, June Maliah, directors Raj Chakraborty, Sudeshna Roy among others

Cricketer Manoj Tiwari, actors Saayoni Ghosh, June Maliah, Kanchan Mullick, directors Raj Chakraborty, Sudeshna Roy are among those who joined Mamata Banerjee’s party on Wednesday.

Banerjee was at Hooghly district at a public meeting on the Dunlop ground from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed a political meeting just two days ago.

Tiwari has played for Bengal in domestic cricket and for the national team, Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Rising Pune Supergiants in the IPL. He was also part of the 2012 T20 World Cup squad of India. Tiwari is a resident of Howrah, and he may be fielded a candidate from the district, from where Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who was part of the Trinamool Congress and minister in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet, recently stepped down, saying he would like to move away from politics.

Actor Saayoni Ghosh — who joined the Trinamool Congress today — has been recently embroiled in a controversy after senior BJP leader Tathagata Roy lodged a police complaint against her for a meme shared on Twitter. Roy, also former Meghalaya Governor, had lodged a complaint with Kolkata Police against the actor alleging that a meme shared on Ghosh’s Twitter account had hurt the sentiments of Hindus. Ghosh had said that the meme is from February 2015 and was not posted by her, but was a “mischievous act” by someone who hacked into her account then. Later, Mamata Banerjee had backed Saayoni Ghosh, saying she has the right to express her opinion, adding “Let me see who has the courage to do anything to her.”

Recently, she was in the news again when she was seen in a video where several actors from the Bengali film industry wished BJP leader Mukul Roy on his birthday. About the video, Ghosh had said that her wish for the BJP national vice-president is only “personal”.