2 Bengal BJP MPs resign as MLAs

They resign as per instructions of the party leadership

Two BJP Lok Sabha members, who won in the recent West Bengal Assembly polls, on Wednesday tendered their resignation as MLAs before Speaker Biman Banerjee.

Cooch Behar MP Nisith Pramanik was elected from Dinhata and Ranaghat MP Jaganath Sarkar from Santipur. While Mr. Pramanik won by only a margin of 57 votes, Mr. Sarkar won by a margin of over 16,000 votes.

Both said they were resigning as MLAs as per the instructions of the party leadership.

“It’s not possible to hold both these positions. The party asked us to resign as MLAs and so we are doing that,” Mr. Sarkar said.

Mr. Pramanik said the Constitution did not allow anyone to hold both the posts of MP and MLA.

Speaking to

The Hindu, the Speaker said the process of holding bypolls to the two seats could start.

The resignations bring the number of BJP legislators to 75 in the 294-member House. Both the MPs evaded questions as to why the party fielded sitting MPs in Assembly polls.

The BJP had given ticket to four sitting MPs. Union Minister for State and Asansol MP Babul Supriyo and Hooghly MP Locket Chatterjee lost from Tollygunj and Chinsurah. Former Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta also lost in Tarakeshwar.

The Trinamool Congress has won 213 seats. Polling for Jangipur and Shamshergunj seats have been postponed because of the death of candidates.