Chandan Mitra set to quit BJP

A senior party leader said he was aware of Mitra’s resignation but added that he did not know the contents of the resignation letter.

Mitra was a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha from August 2003 to 2009. In June 2010, BJP got him elected to the upper house from Madhya Pradesh. His term ended in 2016.

Although he was a prominent face of the BJP in Delhi circles and often defended the party on crucial issues, Mitra, considered to be close to party veteran L K Advani, has been sidelined under the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah leadership.

A party leader said the new leadership saw Mitra as a key member of the “Advani camp”, which has been marginalised since 2014 when the BJP came to power.

Of late, Mitra has started criticising the party. When the BJP was defeated in the Kairana bypoll in May, Mitra was quoted as saying that the party did not pay adequate attention to the issue of sugarcane farmers. Terming the defeat as a “serious setback”, Mitra told NDTV that the BJP would have a serious fight on its hands in the run-up to the 2019 general elections if the Opposition unites.