Kolkata, Feb 19 (LatestNewsX) Rebel Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Kurseong Assembly constituency in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district, Bishnu Prasad Sharma, who had been vocal against the party’s state leadership for quite some time, on Thursday, finally joined the ruling Trinamool Congress.
He arrived at Trinamool Bhavan, the party’s state headquarters in Kolkata, on Thursday afternoon, and was officially welcomed to the ruling party by state Education Minister, Bratya Basu and Women & Child Development and Social Welfare Minister, Dr Shashi Panja.
While Basu handed over the Trinamool flag to Sharma, Panja wrapped tricolour scarf with the party emblem printed on it around his neck.
For quite some time, Sharma had been vocal against the state BJP leadership because the principal opposition party was not serious about the long-standing demand from the people in the hills for a separate Gorkhaland state proposed to be carved out of the hills in Darjeeling, Kurseong, and Kalimpong, and the plains in Terai and Dooars regions.
In fact, Sharma had staged sit-in demonstrations within the Assembly premises several times in support of the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state.
In the 2024 election, he strongly objected to the re-nomination of the current BJP Lok Sabha member from Darjeeling, Raju Bista, and contested from that constituency as an independent candidate. He contended that the BJP had repeatedly refused to acknowledge the popular demand for fielding a “son of the hills” as a candidate from Darjeeling Lok Sabha.
With Sharma’s exit, the BJP’s tally in West Bengal has come down to 64.
After officially joining Trinamool, Sharma told media persons that he was unable to get accustomed to the BJP’s communal politics and so had finally decided to join the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
“I was being forced to adopt communal politics and raise divisive slogans. A kind of anarchy is going on in the entire country. So I have decided to join Trinamool Congress to fight against the anarchy politics,” Sharma said.
However, the Chief Whip of the BJP’s legislative party in the Assembly said that Sharma’s move will not impact the party’s prospects in the forthcoming West Bengal assembly elections in the Darjeeling district anyway.
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