KOLKATA :The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal suffered a severe blow Thursday with its Rajya Sabha MP Srinjoy Bose bidding adieu to the party and Parliament. His dramatic exit, coming as it did just a day after he was released on conditional bail in the Saradha scam, fuelled speculation of his possible switch to the BJP.
In a letter to Chief Minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee, Bose, while informing her of his decision, said he had realised during his time in CBI custody that “politics is not my cup of tea” and also cited pressure from his mother and wife who did not want him to remain in politics any more.
Immediately after he was granted bail by the Alipore court here on Wednesday, Bose, who is also editor of a Bengali daily, was admitted to a hospital. Bose was arrested by the CBI on November 21 last year for breach of trust, cheating and criminal conspiracy.
As his resignation letter was made public, speculation started that he would soon join the BJP much like minister Manjul Krishna Thakur who quit the TMC on January 15 and joined the BJP along with his son Subrata Thakur, BJP nominee for the Bongaon Lok Sabha byelection. However, the BJP dismissed the rumours as baseless.