Former Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha has joined the Trinamool Congress ahead of the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections.
“The tipping point was the attack on Mamata Ji in Nandigram. It was the moment of decision to join TMC and support Mamata Ji,” Sinha said, according to ANI.
Senior TMC leaders such as Sudip Banerjee, Derek O’ Brien joined Subrata Mukherjee to welcome Sinha in the party.
“You will be surprised at today’s development as to why at this age I am joining a party when I had withdrawn myself from party politics. This is because the country is passing through crucial times,” the 83 year old leader said.
“The strength of democracy lies in the strength of institutions and I say it with regret that these institutions including the judiciary in the country have been weakened,” he said.
Sinha, who had served as finance minister and external affairs minister under the Atal Bihar Vajpayee government, quit the BJP in 2018. Since then, he has been a staunch critic of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
Sinha, a former IAS officer of the 1960 batch, joined politics in 1984, starting off with the Janata Party after quitting government service. He later joined the BJP.
