Bose's grandnephew quits BJP, says leader's vision not fulfilled by party

Chandra Bose, the grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday saying that the promises of propagating the nationalist leader's vision was not fulfilled by the saffron camp.

Chandra Bose had joined the BJP in 2016 and had twice contested on the BJP ticket -- in the 2016 assembly and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

"When I joined BJP I was promised that I would be allowed to propagate the inclusive ideology of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Sarat Chandra Bose. But nothing of that sort happened," he said.

Bose, who was appointed the West Bengal BJP vice-president in 2016, was dropped from it during the 2020 organisational rejig.

"My discussions (with BJP) then centered on the inclusive ideology of the Bose Brothers (Netaji and his elder brother Sarat Chandra Bose, also a freedom fighter). My understanding, both then and later, had been that I would propagate this ideology across the country on the BJP Platform. It was also decided to form an Azad Hind Morcha within the framework of BJP with the primary objective to propagate Netaj's ideology of uniting all communities as Bharatiyas, irrespective of religion, caste and creed," he said in his resignation letter to BJP national president J P Nadda.

This was essential to keep the country united, he said.

"My ardent promotional efforts to achieve these laudable objectives have not received any support from the BJP, either at the Centre or at the state level in West Bengal. I had put forward a detailed proposal suggesting a Bengal Strategy to reach out to the people of the state. My proposals were ignored," he added.

Bose had time and again hit out at the state leadership over several issues and also opposed the CAA in 2019, going against the party line,

Reacting to his resignation, BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said "For quite a long time he was not at all in touch with the party."