Bengal Polls: Former BJP Leader Yashwant Sinha Joins Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool

Kolkata: Former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha joined the Trinamool Congress on Saturday, just ahead of the West Bengal Assembly election from this month.

The 83-year-old Sinha had quit BJP in 2018.

Sinha’s joining the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led party is likely to be viewed as a prize catch for an outfit that has seen a steady outflow of both leaders and cadres in the past few months.

Sinha met Mamata at her residence before joining the party a little after noon at the Trinamool Bhawan in Kolkata. Senior Trinamool leaders Derek O Brien, Sudip Bandopadhyay and Subrata Mukherjee were present on the occasion.

Speaking at the event, Sinha raised several issues including the ongoing farmers’ agitation and the border situation with China.

He also sought to draw a comparison between the Narendra Modi government and that of PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, under whom he was the Union Finance Minister, NDTV reported.

“There is no one to stop the government’s wrongdoing. Atalji believed in consensus, this government believes in coercing. Atalji believed in co-opting, this government believes in conquering. Atalji built a national alliance. He did not want to weaken allies and take their space,” he said.