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Hurt by sentiments towards Hindi-speakers: Dinesh Bajaj quits TMC, may join BJP
He also said that the TMC should not forget what its senior leaders had done for the party for the sake of newcomers.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Dinesh Bajaj on Saturday resigned from the party and accused it of considering Hindi-speaking people in West Bengal as outsiders, a practice which he said will not be tolerated. Bajaj said that he is not joining the BJP expecting a ticket for fighting the upcoming elections but because he was ‘fed up’ with how the TMC was working. The BJP has not made any official announcement regarding Bajaj joining the party.
Bajaj’s comments came a day after the TMC released its first set of candidates. “It does not matter whether I get a ticket from the BJP or not but I have decided not to remain in the TMC,” Bajaj said, according to news agency ANI. “I have stood beside Didi (Mamata Banerjee) for 20 years but I felt it was not considered when it came to contesting polls. Secondly, how long shall one tolerate the sentiments towards Hindi-speaking people within the TMC and how they are considered outsiders,” Bajaj said.
He also said that the TMC should not forget what its senior leaders had done for the party for the sake of newcomers. Bajaj said that if he gets a ticket from the BJP he will ensure that he wins, according to a report by ANI. Bajaj was elected as an MLA from the Jorasanko constituency in 2006 and served as a legislator till 2011.
The Trinamool Congress has suffered from several defections as several top leaders have left the party to join the BJP. Rajya Sabha lawmaker Dinesh Trivedi on Saturday became another senior leader who joined the BJP in presence of party president JP Nadda in New Delhi. Nadda said after Trivedi’s induction that the ‘right person has left the wrong party and has now joined the right party.’
The TMC and the BJP will face each other in a pitched electoral battle come March 27 when West Bengal will begin its polls. The elections will be held in eight phases on March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29. The votes will be counted on May 2.
