Pavan K Varma, All India Trinamool Congress Vice President, sent his resignation to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The veteran leader’s decisions have sparked rumours of his return to Janata Dal-United, the Nitish Kumar-led political party.
The story came to light two days after Bihar CM Nitish Kumar quit his alliance with BJP. Consequently, he formed a new government with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD, Congress and other allies. On Friday, the former Rajya Sabha member announced his resignation via his official Twitter handle.
Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, TMC Rajya Sabha Member, said, “Varma came on his own and has left on his own. I cannot say whether there are any links to the changing political equations in Bihar.” The TMC has lost another high-profile member in Varma in the last few months.
Former National Democratic Alliance (NDA) minister Yashwant Sinha left the TMC in July after running as the opposition’s presidential candidate against Droupadi Murmu. When Varma and pollster Prashant Kishor vigorously opposed the divisive Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2020, the JD(U) ousted them from the party.
Additionally, Varma made public a letter he wrote to Kumar in January 2020 in which he questioned the choice to run in the Delhi assembly election that year. Varma quoted Kumar as sceptical of the BJP and its ideological forebear, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, in the letter (RSS). In his scornful reply, Kumar told Varma to go wherever he pleased.
Later that month, Varma announced his removal from the JD(U) on Twitter. “Thank you, Nitish Kumar ji for freeing me from my increasingly untenable position of defending you and your policies. I wish you well in your ambition of being CM of Bihar at any cost,” he wrote.
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