Actor-turned-politician Srabanti Chatterjee quits BJP; 'would hardly impact party', says Sukanta Majumdar

Kolkata: Bengali actor Srabanti Chatterjee, who had joined the BJP before this year's assembly elections and unsuccessfully contested against TMC heavyweight Partha Chatterjee, quit the saffron party on Thursday citing its "lack of initiative and sincerity to further the cause of West Bengal".

The 34-year-old actor had been maintaining a distance from the saffron party after it failed to unseat Mamata Banerjee's government from power in the eastern state despite a high-pitched campaign. Chatterjee tweeted:

The West Bengal BJP, however, did not attach much importance to Chatterjee's decision and asserted that "it would hardly impact the party".

"I really don't know whether she was with the party after the elections. It won't have an impact on the party," BJP state chief Sukanta Majumdar said.

Echoing him, BJP leader Tathagata Roy, who has been training his guns on the party top brass for the election debacle, called Chatterjee's quitting the party a "good riddance".

Roy had criticised the BJP for inducting people with no political background, especially those from the entertainment world, and fielding them in the Assembly elections while ignoring loyal and trusted party workers.

"Good riddance. I don't recall if she had any meaningful contributions in all the days," the former Meghalaya and Tripura governor said.

Chatterjee, who was once close to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the TMC, joined the BJP in March this year. She was fielded in the Behala Paschim seat, where she was defeated by state minister Partha Chatterjee by over 50,000 votes.

The actor joins a long list of celebrities and leaders who have either quit the BJP or are maintaining a distance from the party after its defeat in the polls.