Former BJP MP Chandan Mitra, 4 Congress MLAs Join Trinamool Congress

Kolkata: Former BJP Rajya Sabha member Chandan Mitra and four Congress MLAs in the West Bengal Assembly joined the ruling TMC in presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday.

The Congress MLAs who joined the TMC are Samar Mukherjee, Abu Taher, Sabina Yasmin and Akhruzzman.

All of them joined the TMC at its annual Martyrs’ Day rally in Kolkata.

Mitra had resigned from the BJP a few days ago.

Mitra considered close to veteran BJP leader LK Advani and was nominated to the Upper House in 2003 when the BJP-led NDA was in power at the Centre and again elected to the House in 2010 from Madhya Pradesh on the party’s ticket.

However, his political stock within the party plunged under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, and he was left with little organisational responsibility.

He was fielded as the party’s candidate from Hooghly in West Bengal in the 2014 Lok Sabha election and came a distant third.