In yet another political homecoming ahead of the Assembly elections, former Trinamul Congress MLA and BJP leader Amal Acharya rejoined the Congress on Wednesday.
The induction took place at the state party headquarters, Bidhan Bhavan, in the presence of AICC observer Ghulam Ahmad Mir and WBPCC president Shubhankar Sarkar. Acharya, who once served as the North Dinajpur district president of the Trinamul Congress, was accompanied by around seven former panchayat samiti office-bearers, who also joined the Congress. Party leaders claimed that Acharya’s return would strengthen the organisation in north Bengal and inspire more disgruntled leaders to come back to the fold. Speaking after rejoining, Acharya expressed both nostalgia and disillusionment over his political journey. “I joined Trinamul at the call of Mamata Banerjee and worked hard to build the organisation in my district. I was elected MLA twice. But in 2021, I was denied a ticket — I had expected at least a word of consolation, which never came,” he said.
Acharya, however, dismissed suggestions that his return was merely an outcome of being denied candidature. “It’s not about getting or not getting a ticket. But I am also human, I felt hurt,” he remarked. A veteran in north Bengal politics, Acharya began his career in the Congress, later joining TMC during the party’s expansion phase. He was elected from Itahar constituency in both 2011 and 2016.
After being dropped from the Trinamul list in 2021, he joined the BJP in the presence of state party president Sukanta Majumdar, though he remained largely inactive in the saffron camp.