BJP Minority Cell President Resigns To Join TMC

Kolkata: Shakeel Ansari, the president of BJP’s minority cell resigned from his duties on Tuesday to join TMC, a month before Assembly elections in West Bengal.

Ansari submitted his resignation letter to the state BJP president, which read: “There is no proper assessment of work being done by the workers and that is why undeserving people have got party tickets to contest the Assembly elections while those who had been working hard for the party have been deprived. I have been the president of the minority cell just for show. I am not even a part of the Selection Committee of the party.”

TMC MP Suvendu Adhikari and other senior TMC leaders are expected to be present at the formal program on Wednesday which will witness Ansari joining the party.

Justifying his reason for the sudden shift, Ansari said: “I have given more than ten years to the party. I travelled to all the rural and remote areas to make people understand that BJP is not a communal force. I tried to convince my community people that our Prime Minister Narendra Modi actually wants the minority community to flourish and there is no discrimination based on religion.”

Meanwhile, BJP decided a month ago to field at least 30 minority candidates which is ten percent of 294 seats. TMC has already fielded close to 20 percent minority candidates.

Ansari submitted his nomination from the Raniganj seat while another 21 Muslim members too filed nomination from several Muslim-dominated constituencies. However, all the nominations were rejected.