Former CPM parliamentarian Amitava Nandy’s son has joined BJP. 

Arunava Nandy was sworn in and ceremonially handed the BJP flag by state party president Rahul Sinha on Monday. While Amitava Nandy passed away last year, his wife Ila Nandy is the CPM councillor of Salt Lake’s Ward 17 (comprising added areas behind Sector V) and leader of opposition in Bidhannagar Municipality. 

“I had been contemplating joining BJP for a while and took the plunge when the party too approached me,” said Arunava. “Development in the state has slowed down ever since Trinamul Congress (TMC) came to power and this is the only way to oust them. As for the CPM, the present members talk of communism but live in palatial bungalows. It’s become a farce. The members do not adhere to the ideals that my father lived by.” 

Arunava is a businessman residing in IA Block. “BJP had performed very well in Salt Lake during the Lok Sabha elections last year and I am hopeful that it will come to power in the upcoming municipal polls. The party would have done much better in the municipal elections across the state too had the voting been free and fair,” says the 36-year-old. 

“Besides Salt Lake-proper, we have been trying to work in the added areas too but TMC and CPM workers try to intimidate us,” he said, adding that his party would oppose the Trinamul move to turn Salt Lake into a corporation. 
Given that Arunava had never taken active part in politics before, his mother says she is surprised by his move. “I am sad that he has chosen to join BJP but then he is an adult and has the right to make independent decisions. I do not want to force my opinion on him. BJP had done well in the Lok Sabha elections but failed to keep up the momentum, as is apparent from last month’s municipal poll results. It has lost its steam,” Ila Nandy, who lives in HA Block, told The Telegraph Salt Lake. 

Other BJP members of the township expressed mixed views on Arunava joining the saffron fold. “A lot of people have joined the BJP from CPM but Arunava has thus far been apolitical. I think this is just a gimmick, as his father was a hardcore Leftist and he is a thrill-seeker who used his father’s name and connections for his own benefit. He has to perform in this party to prove himself,” said Umashankar Ghosh Dastidar, the state convener of BJP’s trade and industry cell who stays in BJ Block.

President of BJP’s Salt Lake wing, Manoj Das, said it was worrying since his mother is a CPM councillor. “Since Rahul Sinha has brought him to the party, he is welcome but I don’t think this is a great gain for us,” he said. “Some of us had expressed reservations about the induction since Arunava belongs to a Leftist family. It seems he wants to work hard but only time will tell,” said Ashok Sarkar, a national council member of the BJP and a resident of Karunamoyee.