Waving the party's green-saffron flag with lotus symbol, actor Mithun Chakraborty formally joined the BJP at the Brigade parade ground in Kolkata on Sunday. The announcement came just moments before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's arrival at the Brigade ground to kickstart his 'Brigade Chollo Rally' in Kolkatta. The West Bengal Assembly election is scheduled to take place in eight phaases in March and April, with the counting of votes on May 2.
Sporting a black skull cap, a white kurti and beige dhoti, Mithun Chakraborty was welcomed into the party fold by BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and state party chief Dilip Ghosh among others. The actor later addressed the crowd.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had met the 70-yeara-old actor at his Mumbai residence last month, setting off speculation that he might join the BJP. Mithun Chakraborty, a former Rajya Sabha member of the TMC, had quit the Upper House in 2016 after his name surfaced in Saradha Ponzi scam, although he cited health reasons for resigning. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had questioned the actor about the Rs 1.2 crore he had received for being the brand ambassador of a news channel financed by the company.
Watch: Mithun Chakarborty joins BJP
Actor Mithun Chakraborty joins BJP at PM Shri @narendramodi's rally at Brigade Parade Ground, Kolkata.#ModirSatheBrigade pic.twitter.com/gvIMfmmNFb
— BJP (@BJP4India) March 7, 2021
The PM will be addressing a poll rally in Kolkata, giving a major thrust to the saffron party's campaign ahead of Bengal's eight-phase assembly elections, starting March 27.
Dilip Ghosh has claimed that the PM's election rally will be attended by nearly 10 lakh people. Mithun Chakraborty in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's brigade parade ground rally on Sunday has generated considerable interest among BJP supporters as they turned up for the mega event.
Chakraborty met BJP national general secretary in-charge of West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya after arriving in Kolkatta on Saturday evening.
Many of the BJP supporters headed for the meeting ground from across the state said they were happy to know that the film star will participate in the rally.