A month after former cricketer Lakshmi Ratan Shukla quit Mamata Banerjee's cabinet and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to take a break from politics, another former cricketer Manoj Tiwary joined the party on Wednesday.

Tiwary joined the TMC in Mamata Banerjee's presence in Hooghly district, at the same venue where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's addressed a gathering on Wednesday. Other Tollywood personalities also joined the TMC on the same dias.

Manoj Tiwary and Mamata Banerjee

Tiwary had over the past few weeks been taking digs at the Modi government over a range of issues.

TMC sources hinted Tiwary might be given an election ticket from the same seat represented by Shukla in Howrah district.

Manoj Tiwary

Tiwary joining the party would help TMC in their battle for the votes of the Hindi speaking population, which make a large share of the demography in urban Howrah, senior TMC leaders said.

Other prominent personalities who are likely to join the TMC today include—footballer Soumik Dey, directors Raj Chakraborty, Sudeshna Roy, actors Manali Dey, Saayoni Ghosh, June Malia and Kanchan Mallik.