Hooghly, 19 July (H.S.): In another setback for the Trinamool Congress (TMC), senior party leader and former West Bengal minister Tapan Dasgupta resigned from the party on Sunday. The three-time MLA from Saptagram and two-time minister indicated that he would remain active in politics and did not rule out joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the future.

Dasgupta had been one of Mamata Banerjee's closest political associates for nearly four decades and was among the early leaders of the Trinamool Congress. During the party's tenure in power, he served as a minister twice and also held several key positions, including TMC state vice-president, Hooghly district president, chairman of the Furfura Sharif Development Authority, chairman of the Animal Resources Development Department and the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation.

He was denied a ticket in the recent Assembly elections, following which speculation grew over his dissatisfaction with the party leadership. Though he refrained from publicly criticising the party at the time, his displeasure reportedly deepened after his political rival Asit Majumdar was appointed president of the Hooghly-Serampore organisational district unit of the TMC.

Announcing his resignation, Dasgupta said he had been associated with the party since its inception and was among its first five leaders. He alleged that despite serving the organisation for decades in various capacities, he had eventually been sidelined.

Claiming that the party had lost public trust, he said, TMC has fragmented and lost the confidence of the people. When politics turns into a business, this is what happens to a political party.

Dasgupta clarified that he was not retiring from politics and would continue to remain active in public life. He also hinted that joining the BJP remained a possibility in the future.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey