After Moushumi, veteran Bengali actor Biswajit Chatterjee joins BJP

Veteran actor Biswajit Chatterjee has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday in the presence of party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and other senior leaders. The 83-year-old Chatterjee, who made his Bollywood debut with Hemant Kumar's 'Bees Saal Baad' in the early 1960s, is the second prominent film personality from Bengal to join the party after Moushumi Chatterjee, who joined BJP last month. Earlier, West Bengal Trinamool Congress general secretary Shanku Deb Panda too crossed over to the BJP.

According to the sources, the 83-year-old Chatterjee is likely to contest the Lok Sabha elections from West Bengal, where the BJP has been looking for some prominent faces. He had contested the 2014 general elections from New Delhi as a Trinamool Congress candidate against Congress' Ajay Maken and BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi, but finished 7th, securing only 909 votes.

While speaking to media, Biswajit said he wanted to work for the country and decided to join the BJP after seeing what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has achieved over the past 56 months. "I want to work for the country. I had focussed on one person. I have seen what all he has achieved. In my eyes, Narendra Modi outshines all other leaders," he said.

"Nobody knew that party (in Delhi). I went from alley to alley in Delhi to tell people that there is a party called Trinamool Congress. I had contested the seat knowing very well I will lose. I have no regrets for that," said Biswajit on his foray in politics in 2014 with TMC.