BJP Kurseong MLA Bishnuprasad Sharma says he will not contest Bengal polls on party ticket

Kolkata, Feb 8 (PTI) BJP’s Kurseong MLA Bishnuprasad Sharma on Sunday said he would not contest the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls on the party’s ticket, expressing strong resentment against both the party’s central and state leadership.
    Talking to reporters here, he alleged that promises made in the BJP's election manifesto for the hill region were not fulfilled, leading to widespread public disappointment.
    Sharma, who said he will remain in politics but not be associated with BJP anymore, referred to the demand for a Permanent Political Solution (PPS) to the Gorkhaland statehood issue alleging that the party had retreated from its pre-2021 Assembly poll promise to safeguard the interests of the community in the hills.
    "While there had been inaction by the Centre on the matter, a section of the party sidelined me whenever I tried to raise issues related to the interests of the hill or the demand for a separate state," he said.
    Sharma, who described himself as a "free bird", however, did not rule out the possibility of aligning with a regional or like-minded political force.
    In a significant development, the Trinamool Congress Sunday evening reacted to the developments.
    In a post on X, the TMC said, Kurseong MLA Bishnu Prasad Sharma has openly signalled his exit, disgusted by BJP's politics of communal poison and its absolute failure to deliver on promises made to the people."
    "@BJP4India is imploding before the elections, and this time, it's not the opposition exposing them, it's their own house collapsing from within. When your own legislators can no longer stomach your ideology or your incompetence, the verdict is already written. This is the true face of the 'Paltano Dorkar' party, a revolving door of betrayal, opportunism, and broken trust," the TMC said.
    The TMC further said, "A party (BJP) that cannot hold its own leaders together has zero moral authority to ask for the people's mandate. If they can't inspire loyalty within their ranks, what makes them think they deserve the faith of Bengal?"

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)