Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy, who has a strained relation with party supremo Mamata Banerjee, has expressed his desire to join Congress and also met the party vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, West Bengal Congress President Adhir Chowdhury said.

"Mukul Roy has expressed his desire to us that he wants to join Congress. He had also met our party leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi a few days back. His appeal to join the party is pending before the high command which is looking into it and will take the final call," Chowdhury told PTI.

Roy, however, neither denied nor accepted the claim. He told PTI when contacted, "Till now I am a member of the Trinamool Congress. This is not the right time to comment on this matter. I will say whatever I have to at the appropriate time."

"Several other parties are in touch with me, but I am still a member of the TMC," he added.

West Bengal Congress leader Abdul Mannan also said that Roy had two meetings with other state Congress leaders -- both in Delhi and in Kolkata.

Roy, who was once the number two in the TMC hierarchy, was shunned by the party leadership after he spoke against it on several occasions ever since he was interrogated by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the Saradha scam and much of his powers were taken away.