Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Chandan Mitra has resigned from the party as he was sidelined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. However, it is not clear whether Shah has accepted his resignation, The Indian Express reported.
A BJP member told IE that the new leadership saw him as a key member of the “Advani camp”, which has been marginalised since 2014 when the BJP came to power.
Mitra has criticised the saffron party for ignoring the plight of farmers in the recent past. He called BJP’s defeat in Kairana bypoll a “serious setback”. “The BJP would have a serious fight on its hands in the run-up to the 2019 general elections if the Opposition unites,” he said after the party faced defeat in the bypoll.
A two-time Rajya Sabha MP, Mitra’s term ended in 2016. He was a nominated member of the Upper House from August 2003-2009. In June 2010, the BJP got him elected to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh.