Kolkata: In another coup of sorts, a clutch of Tollywood actors, including one of the leading men of the industry Yash Dasgupta, joined the BJP on Wednesday.
“The BJP has always given opportunities to the youth. All of us have to work for a change for the better. I respect Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. But I wanted to join BJP to work for the people of the state,” said Yash.
The others to sign up for the saffron party were Raj Mukherjee, Ashok Bhadra, Meenakshi Ghosh, Mallika Banerjee, Papiya Adhikari, Soumili Ghosh Biswas and Emila Bhattacharjee.
BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and the party’s national vice-president Mukul Roy welcomed the artistes at a time when assembly elections in West Bengal are round the corner.
Just a day earlier, Mithun Chakraborty met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in Mumbai, triggering speculation of the veteran Tollywood and Bollywood actor Chakraborty joining BJP. Mithin, however, denied discussing politics during the meeting.
There has been a big exodus from the ruling Trinamool Congress to the BJP, including former ministers and heavyweights Suvendu Adhikari and Rajib Banerjee.