Kolkata: Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and veteran politician Yashwant Sinha, who recently joined the Trinamool Congress ahead of assembly elections, has been appointed the Vice President of the Mamata Banerjee-led party on Monday (March 15).
The former union minister has also been inducted into the national working committee as per the order issued on Monday by TMC General Secretary Subrata Bakshi.
The veteran politician joined the TMC in its Kolkata headquarters on Saturday (March 13). After joining the TMC, the 83-year-old political leader said, "You must be surprised why at this age when I’d distanced myself from party politics. Why am I joining a party and turning active? I’d like to say the country is going through an extraordinary situation."
“The country is facing an unprecedented situation today. The strength of democracy lies in the strength of the institutions of democracy. All these institutions including the judiciary have become weak now,” said Yashwant Sinha at TMC headquarters in Kolkata.
Meanwhile, the political environment in West Bengal is getting tense as both the parties, BJP and TMC, have started their election campaigns in the state. The assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled to be held in eight phases. The voting for phase 1 for 30 constituencies will take place on March 27, voting for phase 2 for 30 constituencies will be held on April 1.
The polling for phase 3 for 31 seats will take place on April 6, for phase 4 for 44 constituencies on April 10, for phase 5 for 45 constituencies on April 17, for phase 6 for 43 constituencies on April 22, for phase 7 for 36 constituencies on April 26 and for phase 8 for 35 constituencies on April 29.
