Estranged Congress leader Koustav Bagchi joins BJP in Bengal

Kolkata, Feb 29 (IANS) Koustav Bagchi, the estranged Congress leader in West Bengal who had resigned from the party on Wednesday, officially joined the BJP on Thursday evening.

Bagchi, who's also a counsel in the Calcutta High Court, was welcomed into the BJP by the leader of opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, in the presence of the party's state unit chief, Sukanta Majumdar.

“There is no point in pursuing a political career unless you get the chance to work for the people. The Congress has lost all relevance in West Bengal. The party high-command maintained a total silence on the events that unfolded in Sandeshkhali.

"It seems the Congress leadership is going soft towards the Trinamool Congress. In such a situation, there is no point in sticking to the party anymore,” Bagchi told mediapersons after joining the BJP.

He also claimed that grievances are brewing within the state Congress over the party high-command’s silence on the Sandeshkhali issue.

“For me, staying in the Congress was nothing but compromising with self-respect,” Bagchi added.

Differences between Bagchi and the Congress high-command had surfaced ever since the party leadership initiated alliance talks with Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Bagchi had been vocal a number of times against the alliance talks with the Trinamool.

He was also vocal against high-profile lawyer-leaders in the Congress, namely Abhishek Manu Singhvi and P. Chidambaram, briefing different courts on behalf of the West Bengal government and prominent Trinamool leaders.

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