WB Election 2021: In Another Blow To TMC, Former Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Trivedi Joins BJP

On February 12, Dinesh Trivedi announced his resignation from Rajya Sabha on the floor of the House stating he was unable to do anything over the political violence in West Bengal.

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Kolkata: Former All India Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Dinesh Trivedi has joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in presence of president JP Nadda on Saturday.

In a press conference attended by JP Nadda, Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Spokesperson Sambit Patra, Dinesh Trivedi was inducted into the party.

Welcoming the former Union Railways Minister, Nadda said: "I always felt that he was the right person in the wrong party". "Now I feel is he is the right person in the right party," he added.

The BJP President also said that Trivedi has paid the price for his principles talking about his tenure as the Union Railways Minister and then invoking his recent resignation from Rajya Sabha as another decision taken based on his principles.

Nadda talked about meeting Trivedi a few months back where he revealed that the latter told him, "I want to serve the nation the right way".

Speaking at the press conference, Dinesh Trivedi said that he feels he has truly joined a family as opposed to the party that only works for a family. He made the remark without directly naming CM Mamata Banerjee and TMC as a veiled attack over the accusation of nepotism being faced by the TMC supremo over accusation of promoting nephew Abhishek Banerjee's influence in the party. 

The former TMC Rajya Sabha MP then praised the PM Narendra Modi-led government saying how India is getting praised the world over and people are proud of the work done so far.

He reiterated BJP's call for turning the state into "Sonar Bangla", talking about how West Bengal is currently ridden with corruption and violence.

On February 12, Dinesh Trivedi announced his resignation from Rajya Sabha on the floor of the House stating he was unable to do anything over the political violence in West Bengal, adding that he was feeling suffocated about the same.

 "I am resigning from Rajya Sabha today. There is violence happening in my state. We cannot speak anything here," Trivedi had said.

"Grateful to my party that they have sent me here. I'm feeling suffocated that we are not able to do anything over violence in the state. My soul tells me that if you cannot do anything sitting here, then you must resign. I will continue to work for the people of West Bengal," he added.

In another major addition to BJP, actor and former TMC Rajya Sabha MP Mithun Chakraborty was also reported to be joining the saffron party in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, it has been clarified that the actor is not joining the party but may attend the mega poll rally slated to happen in Kolkata’s Brigade Ground on Sunday.