Congress leader joins Trinamool in Bengal

Senior Congress leader Omprakash Mishra on Wednesday crossed over to West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress.

Mishra, accompanied by state minister and Trinamool leader Suvendu Adhikari, called on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the state assembly premises during the day. Later, the former state Vice President announced he has joined the Trinamool.

"I had a 25-minute meeting with the Chief Minister. She invited me to join her party. And so I have joined," Mishra told IANS.

Lambasting the state Congress leadership, he said: "They have failed miserably, and are actually trying to pave the way for the BJP's ascendancy. I had been raising my voice within the party and also resigned from my position as Vice President."

Mishra said he has joined Trinamool to sharpen the political fight against the BJP.

He said Banerjee wanted him to work in the education front. "I am prepared to shoulder whatever responsibility is given to me."

An architect of the tie-up between Congress and the CPI-M-led Left Front in the 2016 state assembly polls, Mishra had started dissociating himself from his party after the 2019 general elections in which the Congress managed to win only two seats in Bengal.

Since then, he resigned as state Vice President and became a staunch critic of state President Somen Mitra, even going to the extent of seeking his resignation for the party's dismal show in the state.IANS