In a fresh jolt to West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress, Rajya Sabha member Srinjoy Bose quit as member of parliament and also left the party Thursday, a day after getting bail in a case related to the Saradha chit fund scam.
The Trinamool pointed fingers at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying Bose was under "tremendous pressure" from the "party in power at the centre". Doing her bit to hit back at the BJP, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to the people of Delhi to vote for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Saturday's assembly election.
But it was clearly a bad day for the Trinamool, as women's commission member and Bengali film actress Locket Chatterjee - perceived to be close to Banerjee - resigned from the party and crossed over to the BJP.
Bose, editor of Trinamool mouthpiece "Jago Bangla" and vernacular newspaper "Sambad Pratidin", announced his decision in a press release here.
"I would like to inform that with immediate effect, I have resigned from my membership of the Rajya Sabha. I have also decided to resign from the primary membership of the party - the Trinamool Congress," the release said.
Bose spent 75 days in police and jail custody after his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a case related to Saradha Realty, the realty arm of the tainted Group which is accused of having duped lakhs of poor people who parked their money in its ponzi schemes.
He said it was during his days in custody that he understood "politics is not my cup of tea". He also said pressure from his family shaped his decision.
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Bose is the first senior Trinamool leader to be granted bail in the scam.
Trinamool spokesperson Derek O'Brien's reaction was guarded.
"It is Srinjoy Bose's personal choice. It is his democratic right. We have been saying for some time now that he has been put under tremendous pressure by the party in power at the centre. He was released on bail yesterday (Wednesday).
"He (Bose) resigned today (Thursday). Did this pressure lead to some coordination? We are happy that he got freedom yesterday," said O'Brien, Trinamool chief whip in the Rajya Sabha, in a statement.
Minutes before Bose's announcement, Chatterjee cited building mistrust in the party due to the raging Saradha scam and crossed over to the BJP.
"The Saradha scam has put the party in a strange situation. There is an odd mistrust prevailing within the party. Wherever I go, I have to hear about the Saradha scam from people despite some of us not being involved," Chatterjee told media persons at the state BJP headquarters here.
"I feel perhaps nobody within the party (TMC) now trust others," she said.
She also cited crimes against women and the recent death of a youth Arup Bhandari - fatally beaten up for protesting women's harassment in Howrah district's Salkia - have shaken her confidence in the party.
Welcoming Bose's decision to quit Trinamool, the state's opposition parties predicted it will lose more people in the coming days.
Communist Party of India-Marxist's Sujan Chakraborty said Bose is regretting the decision to join Trinamool.
"He is not basically a political party person but he was encouraged by somebody that one could buy a Rajya Sabha post so now he has understood after buying his way in... he is repenting," he said.
BJP state president Rahul Sinha said Bose went to jail for his association with the Trinamool.
"He did the most intelligent thing by quitting," he said.
Former state Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya said Bose had no other option and requested him to make his reasons for resigning public.
The chief minister, who kept mum over the twin resignations, tweeted her support for AAP in the Delhi polls.
"My request to all of you in Delhi to please vote for AAP," she tweeted, "For the greater need of the country and development in Delhi."
Since the Narendra Modi government came to power, the Banerjee-led Trinamool has been projecting itself as a staunch opponent of the BJP. It played a leading role in stalling a number of reform bills in the Rajya Sabha.
The Trinamool is also eyeing the around 26 percent Muslim vote in the state, and hopes it can garner the community's votes in coming elections because of its strident anti-BJP stand.