In a politically significant move ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, Chandra Bose, grandnephew of Subhas Chandra Bose, joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday. Bose, a former member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), formally entered the ruling party in the presence of state minister Bratya Basu and TMC MP Kirti Azad.
Sharp criticism of BJP's politics
Soon after joining, Bose launched a strong attack on his former party, accusing it of straying from Netaji's ideals. "It is not possible to follow Netaji's ideals while being in the BJP," Chandra Bose was quoted as saying by NDTV.
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He further said, "Today, we are seeing that the BJP indulges in divisive politics and spreads communal hatred. We must now fight to save India and resist divisive politics."
Expanding on his criticism, Bose described the BJP's approach as fundamentally flawed. "BJP's policies are blatantly communal and anti-Constitution. They attempt to win polls by playing the religion card, which is a divisive policy. This is exactly what the British did during their 200-year rule in India. We drove them out, and now the time has come to drive out BJP," he told The Times of India.
Political journey and past elections
Bose had joined the BJP in 2016 and contested the Assembly elections that year from Bhabanipur against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, but was unsuccessful. He later contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Kolkata Dakshin and lost again.
Over time, his differences with the BJP leadership grew, leading to his resignation in September 2023. After leaving the party, Bose had publicly praised Banerjee on several occasions.
On March 27, he reportedly called his earlier decision a mistake, writing, "If the objective of any party is to create division among voters to win elections, I cannot accept that."
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Elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.
