West Bengal: Ex-MLA Amol Acharjee switches over to Congress from BJP

Kolkata, Nov 12 (PTI) Former West Bengal MLA Amol Acharjee joined the Congress on Wednesday, months before the assembly elections in the state.

Acharjee had joined the BJP in 2021, after failing to get a ticket from the ruling TMC. He had represented the Itahar assembly segment in Uttar Dinajpur as a TMC MLA for two terms, from 2011 to 2021.

Acharjee was welcomed to the Congress by the party's observer for the West Bengal unit, Ghulam Ahmed Mir, state chief Shubhankar Sarkar, and district president Mohit Sengupta.

Several Itahar-based BJP leaders and workers also switched sides along with him.

Acharjee did not find much footing in the BJP, which is believed to have made him switch sides ahead of the 2026 assembly polls.

"I became an MLA twice and strengthened the TMC organisation in the district, but in 2021, I was denied a ticket. That is secondary. The real issue is that the TMC we dreamt of no longer exists. Without threats and administrative power, where will that party go," he asked.

"Congress is our home. We will move forward with a nationalist vision and prove our commitment through our work," he added.

Welcoming him to the party, Mir claimed the people of Bengal want change.

"Neither the Centre nor the state government has created opportunities for young people. Many more like Amol will return to the Congress," he claimed.

Sarkar said Acharjee's return to the Congress, from where he started his political career, was part of a broader resistance against "injustice and darkness" in the state and the country.

State BJP leaders claimed Acharjee "was never particularly active" in the organisation.

TMC's Uttar Dinajpur district president Kanaiyalal Agarwal said, "These developments will not affect Itahar. People vote for Mamata Banerjee, not for any other individual." PTI SCH SOM