English
West Bengal Assembly Election 2021 LIVE: Former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi, who had resigned as Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP from the Rajya Sabha last month, joined the BJP on Saturday. He joined the saffron party in the presence of BJP chief JP Nadda in New Delhi. The former TMC leader has called his joining BJP a ‘golden moment’ he had been waiting for’.
“I’ll be active in the election process, irrespective of whether I contest or not. Bengal has rejected TMC. They want progress, not corruption or violence. They’re ready for real change. Politics isn’t ‘khela’, it’s serious. She (CM) forgot her ideals while playing”, said Trivedi lambasting CM Mamata.
Delhi: Dinesh Trivedi, who had resigned as TMC MP in Rajya Sabha on February 12th, joins BJP in the presence of the party's national president JP Nadda. Union Minister Piyush Goyal also present. pic.twitter.com/wCHlDbrcAz
— ANI (@ANI) March 6, 2021
“Grateful to my party that they’ve sent me here. I’m feeling suffocated that we’re not able to do anything over violence in the state. My soul tells me that if you can’t do anything sitting here, then you must resign. I will continue to work for people of WB,” Dinesh Trivedi had said in Parliament during Budget session 2021.
Earlier, many TMC leaders including CM Mamata’s closest aide Suvendu Adhikari, Cabinet Minister Rajib Banerjee had resigned from the party to join the BJP.
Trinamool Congress yesterday stole a march on its rivals, the BJP and the Left-Congress-ISF alliance, by coming out with the party”s full list of 291 candidates, bringing in 114 new faces in a bid to beat the decade-old anti-incumbency. Announcing the candidate list, TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the remaining three seats of the 294 constituencies would be fought by its ally, the Bimal Gurung faction of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).
Reaching out to the politically crucial 49 per cent women voters and 30 per cent minority population, the TMC”s list has 50 women and 42 members of the minority community. Besides, Banerjee fielded 79 Scheduled Caste and 17 Scheduled Tribe candidates. Altogether 28 sitting MLAs, including five ministers, faced the axe because of age factor or poor health.
Affirming her candidature only from Nandigram, Banerjee said she will not contest from her traditional Bhowanipore seat in Kolkata, as she threw a challenge to her protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari, who crossed over to the BJP in December.
BJP to Release List Of Candidates on March 7
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party is expected to announce its list of candidates on March 7 for the upcoming Assembly polls.
BJP sources said that on Wednesday core committee of the West Bengal party unit shortlisted the names of the probable candidates recommended by district units.
For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest India News on India.com.
