Kolkata: In a desperate bid to stay afloat after the closure of the illegal car-rental kiosk outside the city airport, drivers and operators associated with the Trinamool Congress-controlled union that ran the facility have begun reaching out to BJP functionaries, seeking to revive the business under the saffron party’s banner.A delegation led by office-bearers of the Helpline Transport and Car Parking Co-operative Society, which operated the now-defunct kiosk, met BJP’s Dum Dum MLA Arijit Bakshi in New Town on Tuesday, requesting that the co-operative be brought under the BJP’s trade union umbrella and allowed to resume operations.The co-operative has long been associated with the Trinamool Congress, with South Dum Dum Municipality vice-chairperson Barun Natta being one of its key functionaries. In an apparent attempt to signal a political realignment, BJP flags have been put up outside the co-operative’s office and on several vehicles operated by its members.“We told the MLA that around 120 drivers depend entirely on the car-rental service for their livelihood. We have pledged our allegiance and hope he understands our problem and helps us find a solution,” an office-bearer of the co-operative said.“I have met the members and learnt about their problems and have told them that first I will have to know the exact matter from the airport authorities before proceeding with their pleas. But I met them only as a local MLA and there was no political discussions,” Bakshi told TOI.The operators said they would also approach the state transport department for a fresh licence, without which the airport authorities have made it clear that no application to operate from the airport premises would be considered.Airport sources said the co-operative has also been instructed not to park its vehicles illegally inside the airport complex and instead keep them outside the premises. The operators said they had identified a parking space near Birati on Jessore Road for around 20 vehicles.The development comes a day after TOI reported that the illegal car-rental kiosk, which operated under the signboard ‘Prepaid Cab – City & Outstation ‘ outside Gate 2A of Kolkata airport, finally was shut nearly nine months after the Airports Authority of India (AAI) ordered its closure. The kiosk continued to function despite an Oct 2025 AAI directive declaring it illegal.
