West Bengal Election 2021: Former TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi joins BJP, says 'Golden moment'

New Delhi, Mar 06: Dinesh Trivedi who had quit the TMC on the floor of the Rajya Sabha on 12th Feb, joined BJP in the presence of the party's national president JP Nadda. Union Minister Piyush Goyal also present.

''I'll be active in election process, irrespective of whether I contest or not. Bengal has rejected TMC. They want progress, not corruption or violence. They're ready for real change. Politics isn't 'khela', it's serious. She (CM) forgot her ideals while playing,'' Dinesh Trivedi said after joining saffron party.

Trivedi could be getting an Assembly ticket from Barrackpore -- a constituency he represented in Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2019 -- and try and get a cabinet berth in West Bengal if BJP comes to power.

Earlier, Trivedi announced his resignation from the Rajya Sabha on Friday, saying he feels suffocated in the House as he is unable to do anything for the violence going on in his state, West Bengal. His resignation came two days after he had endorsed Prime Minister Modi's speech in Lok Sabha in which he called for a key role in the private sector.

It is not the first time Trivedi has expressed dissatisfaction and the feeling of being stifled in the party.

He was forced to resign as railway minister by his own party chief Banerjee soon after he presented the railway budget in 2012.

There were speculations he would quit the TMC as he had talked about being stifled even at that time. He had accused Banerjee of believing in "culture of cult" but he hung around and got the Lok Sabha ticket from the party in 2014.