On Saturday (July 31), BJP leader Babul Supriyo took to Facebook to announce his premature retirement from electoral politics. He said that he is leaving politics, and also resigning from parliament. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) from the Asansol constituency and was the Minister of State for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change before he was dropped from the union ministry earlier this month.
In his Facebook post, he wrote, “Goodbye. I have stayed (in politics) for some time… In this process, I have made some happy and left others disappointed. You are free to evaluate me now. After having answered all my inner queries, I am wishing you goodbye. I have understood that social work can also be done without being active in politics. Let me organise myself a little. I am also resigning from my post of Member of Parliament. I had notified Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda about the same. But, they have again and again asked me to reconsider the decision. I am grateful to them for having inspired me in many ways.”
Babul Supriyo clarified that he did not want to give a false impression about his decision to quit politics. He urged everyone to not mistake his decision as a bargaining chip for a new Ministerial position. The Asansol MP, however, conceded that the loss of Ministership had influenced his decision but to a very small extent. “There is a big difference between 2014 and 2019. At that time, I was the only BJP candidate but today the party is the main Opposition in the West Bengal assembly. Today, BJP has both young and old faces who will lead the party to new heights in the State. I have also realised that it is no more an individual-centric party,” he said.
“I had some issues with the State leadership prior to elections. However, the internal disagreements became public. I am partly responsible for it as I made a Facebook post that created chaos within the party line. Several senior leaders are also responsible for the same, although I don’t want to discuss the extent of it,” he emphasised. Babul Supriyo claimed that the infighting with the BJP Bengal unit not only weakened the party at the ‘ground zero’ but also demoralised the party workers. In his Facebook post, he also vowed to quit his official government accommodation at the earliest.
He recounted his conversation with Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev on a flight and how that paved his way into the political arena. Supriyo said that it was surprising that Bengal did not vote for BJP when the whole of India had chosen Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister in 2014. Despite deep admiration for Shyamaprasad Mukherjee, Atal Bihari Vajpayee among Bengalis, the BJP did not win a single seat. He said that he took it upon as a challenge to turn the party’s fortunes in West Bengal and had worked for the party with utmost dedication. In his concluding note, he said, “I left my job as a banker at Standard Chartered bank to become a singer in Mumbai. Today, I am off to a new beginning. “
Babul Supriyo was dissatisfied after his ouster from Ministership
On July 7, Babul Suprio had expressed disappointment after he was excluded from Ministership following a Cabinet reshuffle. He had tweeted, “Yes, when there is smoke there must be a fire somewhere 😊 Not being able to take phone calls of my friends in the media who care for me hence let me spell it out myself. Yes, I have resigned from the Council Of Ministers (As I had framed it earlier, “Asked to resign” may not be the right way to put it). I thank Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving me the privilege to serve my country as a Member of his Council of Ministers.”
Yes, I have resigned from the Council Of Ministers (As I had framed it earlier, “Asked to resign” may not be the right way to put it 😊)
— Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) July 7, 2021
I thank Hon’ble Prime Minister @narendramodi for giving me the privilege to serve my country as a Member of his Council of Ministers..
Supriyo failed to emerge as a leader at the time of crisis
At the height of the post-poll violence in West Bengal, Asansol MP Babul Supriyo snubbed BJP supporters on Twitter by reinforcing his ‘clean record’ in the constituency. When BJP workers were attacked by Trinamool Congress-sponsored-goons, the BJP MP failed to emerge as a true leader and stand by people at the time of crisis.
On being asked by a BJP Karyakarta to help the foot soldiers of the party, he refused to aid them at ground zero. Citing threats to his life, he stayed at home while his party workers were slaughtered.
In a tweet, he had claimed, “We are all doing everything that’s possible. Please understand one thing that I won’t be able to reach a karyakarta’s place because my car will be attacked immediately. TMC goons are out in the open rioting and police have tucked themselves inside safely. But trying everything sincerely.” With his formal announcement, Babul Supriyo’s 7-year long career in politics comes to an end.
