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Chandra Bose, grandnephew of Subhas Chandra Bose, joined Trinamool Congress before West Bengal assembly elections, slamming BJP for 'divisive politics'. He resigned from BJP in September 2023, calling his decision to join the party a ‘historic blunder’.
‘BJP against Constitution’: Netaji's kin after joining TMC ahead of Bengal polls (Image: ANI)
Chandra Kumar Bose, grandnephew of Subhas Chandra Bose and a former leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), joined the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday, just days before the West Bengal assembly elections.
He formally entered the ruling party in the presence of state minister Bratya Basu and TMC MP Kirti Azad, and alleged that the BJP engages in “divisive politics” and does not adhere to the ideals of the iconic freedom fighter.
"The BJP is against the Constitution because its one-point agenda is to divide and rule, to divide communities for vote bank politics. The British, their policy was divide and rule. The BJP practices the same policies as the British. They bring religion into politics, a policy which was vehemently opposed by my grandfather, Sarat Chandra Bose, and his younger brother, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose," ANI quoted Chandra Bose as saying.
As per PTI, he added, “It is not possible to follow Netaji's ideals while being in the BJP. We must now fight to save India and resist divisive politics."
Chandra Bose said that the Trinamool Congress was certain to emerge victorious in West Bengal assembly elections. He added that the party carried a larger responsibility to promote unity in the country and that like-minded political groups should come together to uphold the idea of being “Bharatiya.”
He also expressed confidence that Mamata Banerjee would win the elections, while noting that he was not making a prediction as an astrologer.
Joining BJP was a ‘historic blunder’, says Chandra Bose
Chandra Bose joined the BJP in 2016 and contested the assembly elections that year from Bhabanipur, where he was defeated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He later fought the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Kolkata Dakshin but was unsuccessful once again.
Over time, his disagreements with the BJP leadership grew, eventually leading to his resignation from the party in September 2023. Following his exit from the saffron party, Bose several times expressed appreciation for Banerjee’s positions on various issues.
Chandra Bose, on March 27, termed his decision to join the BJP a “historic blunder” in a social media post. He wrote that he could not accept any political party whose strategy was to divide voters for electoral gains.
West Bengal elections
Elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be conducted in two phases, on April 23 and April 29, while the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4. The upcoming elections come in the backdrop of the 2021 contest, in which the Trinamool Congress registered a sweeping victory with 213 seats. However, the BJP's rise from a marginal presence to securing 77 seats in that election has intensified the stakes for the current contest.
About the Author
Garvit Bhirani
Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X
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