CHANDAN QUITS BJP

Senior journalist and twotime Rajya Sabha MP Chandan Mitra has quit the BJP; given his visibility in intellectual and academic circles, it is likely to be perceived as a setback for the right wing which is not known for its academic accomplishments and intellectual flourishes.

With that, the BJP has also lost an articulate face in the media that seemed to strike a chord with the middle class.

‘‘I have given my resignation. But I have not decided whom I will join, or when. I am not going to disclose that," Mitra told ANI, playing his cards close to chest.

He also refused to be drawn into speculation that he is set to join the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

The buzz is that Mitra is likely to be present at the party's 'martyrs' day' rally in Kolkata on July 21. Mamata Banerjee is expected to preside over the event where it is believed that Mitra will formally join the party.

Considered close to veteran BJP leader L K Advani, Mitra was nominated to the Upper House in 2003 when the BJP-led NDA was in power at the Centre and again elected to the Upper House in 2010 from Madhya Pradesh on the party's ticket.

However, he was perceived to be at odds with the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah dispensation and not left with much room to manoeuvre in the party. Some attribute it to his proximity to the Advani camp, which has been languishing on the political periphery since 2014. Of late, Mitra had started making veiled criticism of the party.

When the BJP was defeated in the Kairana by-poll in May, he was quoted as saying that the party did not pay adequate attention to the issue of sugarcane farmers. Terming the defeat as a “serious setback”, Mitra told NDTV that the BJP would have a serious fight on its hands in the run-up to the 2019 general elections if the Opposition unites.

Mitra, incidentally, was fielded as the BJP’s candidate from Hooghly in West Bengal in the 2014 Lok Sabha election and came a distant third. If he joins the TMC, it will be a ‘big catch’ for Mamata Banerjee.

For Mitra, it is possibly an opportunity to re-discover his roots.