AMN / KOLKATA
Former Union minister and Asansol MP Babul Supriyo quit the BJP on Saturday and joined Trinamul Congress in the presence of national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien.
After joining the TMC, Babul said, “If an opportunity comes your way, you should decide, and I have decided to take this.”
On whether he will quit as MP after joining the TMC, the leader said he will follow the rulebook. He added that he will work towards the development of Bengal.
“When I had said two months back that I want to quit politics, I was serious about it. After getting this new opportunity, however, I decided to change my mind.
“I am very excited about joining the TMC. I will work for the development of Bengal,” he stated.
Babul also said that he will be meeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday.
“I am grateful to Abhishek Banerjee, (TMC national general secretary) and Mamata Banerjee for giving me an opportunity to work for the state.
“I will follow the rulebook; there is no point in holding on to the Asansol seat when I have joined the TMC,” he added.
Since he was dropped from the Union ministry in the last reshuffle, a sulking Babul had announced that he had quit active politics, though he continued to remain a Lok Sabha MP.
Babul, one of the earliest celebrities from Bengal to join the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014, had won the Asansol Lok Sabha seat in his maiden election and went on to retain it five years later.