Former Union Finance Minister and former senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Saturday joined Trinamool Congress just weeks ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections. Sinha had quit the BJP in 2018.

Sinha joined the Trinamool Congress in the presence of Derek O’ Brien, Sudip Bandopadhyay and Subrata Mukherjee at the Trinamool Bhawan in Kolkata. Speaking about the developement, Mukherjee said the TMC is so proud to have Yashwant Sinha joining the party

Before joining the Trinamool party, the senior leader met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her residence. Speaking at the event, he said the country was at a crossroads. The values the party believed in are in peril. Institutions are being weakened including the judiciary. This is a serious fight across the country. It’s not just a political fight, it’s a fight to save democracy.

While addressing a press conference, Sinha raised the issue of farmers’ protest over the Centre’s three contentious farm laws and the border situation with China. He also drew comparisons between the Narendra Modi government and that of PM Vajpayee.

There is no one to stop the government’s wrongdoing. Atalji believed in consensus, this government believes in coercing. Atalji believed in co-opting, this government believes in conquering. Atalji built a national alliance. He did not want to weaken allies and take their space, Sinha said.

In the run up to the Bengal polls, the Trinamool has seen a steady stream of leaders such as Suvendu Adhikari and Rajib Banerjee shifting loyalties to the BJP, a party keen on replacing Banerjee’s regime. Sinha’s entry into the party at this juncture helps Bengal’s ruling regime hold up an example, at least symbolically, of these defections being a two-way street.

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