Kolkata: Senior journalist and former BJP Rajya Sabha member Chandan Mitra along with four Congress MLAs joined the ruling Trinamool Congress in Bengal in presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the party’s annual ‘Shahid Diwas’ (Martyrs’ Day rally) at Esplanade here on Saturday.
“I welcome all who joined TMC from Congress including Chandan Mitra (from BJP),” Mamata said.
On July 17, Chandan Mitra, a close associate of BJP veteran LK Advani, resigned from the BJP after the present leadership under Amit Shah restricted his involvement in the party’s affairs. He submitted his resignation to party president Amit Shah.
In 2003, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha when the BJP-led NDA was in power at the Centre. In 2010, he again became the Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh on BJP’s ticket.
In 2014, he contested on behalf of BJP from Hooghly in West Bengal but was defeated by TMC’s Ratna De Nag, a doctor by profession.
Talking about Mitra’s induction in the party TMC’s Ratna De Nag said, “I will not say anything in this matter. I am not the spokesperson of the party. You please ask Kalyan Banerjee or Sudip da (Sudip Bandhyopadhyay).”
Besides Mitra, the Congress MLAs who joined the TMC are: Akhruzzman, Samar Mukherjee, Abu Taher and Sabina Yasmin.
Comments
0 comment