Kolkata, February 16, 2024: In a surprising political development that has set tongues wagging in Bengal, popular Bengali actor and Member of Parliament (MP) from Jadavpur, Mimi Chakraborty resigned from her post on Thursday.
The Trinamool Congress leader handed over her resignation to party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a closed door meeting in Kolkata.
Mimi cited unhappiness with the local party leadership as the prime reason for quitting as a Lok Sabha member.
Who is Mimi Chakraborty?
32-year old Mimi Chakraborty is a renowned Bengali film and television actress who made her debut in electoral politics just before the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Mimi was fielded as a Trinamool Congress candidate from the Jadavpur parliamentary seat in Kolkata against heavyweight opponents like BJP’s Anupam Hazra and CPM veteran Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya.
Political pundits wrote her off as a political novice but Mimi managed to pull off a stunning victory by garnering over 60% of the total votes polled. Her successful debut was touted as a masterstroke by TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee who banked on an array of popular Bengali film and TV stars to woo young urban voters ahead of the high stakes polls.
Reasons for Quitting
In her 2-page resignation letter to Mamata Banerjee, Mimi has cited two specific reasons for wanting to step down as a Lok Sabha MP after serving less than one full term:
- Alleged Harassment by Local Leadership: Mimi has levelled serious allegations against a section of the Trinamool’s district and local leadership of deliberately throwing hurdles and trying to clip her wings instead of allowing her to work freely.
She has accused them of obstructing her efforts to deliver on poll promises made to the electorate and constantly creating problems through red tape bureaucracy.
Though she has refrained from taking any names, Mimi has voiced her anguish over being prevented from functioning smoothly despite having the green signal from the top party brass. - Inability to Balance Films & Politics: Mimi has also stated that her busy shooting schedules and film commitments come in the way of devoting enough time to politics and public service expected of an MP.
She admitted that she often struggled to strike a balance between her entertainment career and legislative responsibilities which she felt was not doing justice to the voters from her constituency.
Hence she decided to make way for someone who could give full time attention to Jadavpur’s needs.
Political Implications
Mimi’s sudden resignation just a year before the next Lok Sabha election has evoked mixed reactions across Bengal’s political spectrum. A section of the public feels she should have persisted despite the local opposition while others commend her honesty in stepping down when she felt she couldn’t do justice to the role.
However, the opposition BJP and Left Front have called it a fallout of the rampant factional feud and infighting within the Trinamool Congress. They believe Mimi’s allegations expose the growing schisms between the party’s old guard and Gen-Next leaders.
Both the BJP and CPM have demanded an independent probe into Mimi’s harassment claims while speculating that she could even switch political loyalties in the near future.
Meanwhile, political analysts view this high profile exit as a setback for Mamata Banerjee’s efforts to infuse new blood from the glamour world for countering PM Modi’s popularity.
The Trinamool leadership however remains largely unfazed by the resignation, claiming Mimi’s popularity was limited to urban pockets while the party enjoys widespread mass support cutting across rural and semi-urban belts of Bengal.
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