Tripura BJP leader to join Congress, expelled from party

Agartala, Nov 30 (IANS) Senior BJP leader and former MLA Arun Chandra Bhowmik, who has announced he will join the opposition Congress, on Thursday alleged that there is no discipline in the ruling party. 

Bhowmik, who was elected from Belonia in 2018 Assembly polls on a BJP ticket, on Wednesday night met Tripura state Congress President Ashish Kumar Saha and Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman and expressed his desire to join the party.

"I was in Congress for several decades since 1977 and held various important posts. There is no discipline in the BJP party,” the lawyer turned politician told the media and criticised both former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and incumbent Chief Minister Manik Saha.

Bhowmik, 76, said that he, along with former BJP MLA Biplab Ghosh and many other party leaders and workers, would join the Congress during the visit of its General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Tripura in December.

After Bhowmik’s announcement to join the Congress, the ruling BJP expelled him from the party for six years for "anti-party" activities. 

"Bhowmik violated the party policy, discipline, morality and ideology. He has been expelled from the BJP party for six years and the expulsion order takes immediate effect," BJP media in-charge Sunit Sarkar said in a statement. 

Ever since being dropped from the Belonia constituency in the February Assembly election, Bhowmik has been in a state of frustration which grew in intensity as he was also denied any post of Chairman of various Corporation or PSUs where many other junior partymen were appointed. 

--IANS 

sc/vd