Kolkata, Feb. 19 -- Ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma from Kurseong Assembly constituency joined the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday.

Sharma joined the party at Trinamool Bhavan in Kolkata in the presence of senior TMC leaders, marking a setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the hill constituency.

At the same time, the BJP has intensified its ground-level preparations for the upcoming polls, with its manifesto outreach campaign, "Bikosito Paschim Banga Sankalp Patra, Paramarsha Sangraha Abhiyan," launched on February 7, aimed at gathering citizens' aspirations.

The campaign, which will conclude by the end of February, seeks suggestions from...