Jolt for JD(U) as its Bengal unit president Ashoke Das quits

PATNA: JD(U) received a jolt in

West Bengal

ahead of the eight-phase assembly polls with its state president Ashoke Das resigning in protest against the alleged “autocratic and undemocratic” act of the party’s national secretary

Rabindra Prasad Singh

and its West Bengal in-charge Gulam Rasool Balyawi.

“I emailed my resignation letter to the party’s national president RCP Singh and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Thursday late night,” Das told TOI over the phone on Friday.

“Gulam Rasool Balyawi and Rabindra Prasad Singh have acted in an ‘undemocratic, autocratic and unconstitutional’ manner with the JD(U)’s West Bengal Unit," Das stated in his e-mail to party’s national president RCP Singh.

Das told TOI that he was being humiliated by the party’s in-charge for the last three months. Decisions about the Bengal polls were being taken without taking his views.

Sources said Das wanted to contest from the

Tarakeswar assembly seat

in Hooghly district. But he was not given the ticket.

Rabindra Singh, who is currently in Kolkata, told TOI over the phone, “If Das has resigned from the party post, the party’s chief would hopefully accept his resignation because he has left the war-field amid electoral war in West Bengal.”

Singh also said if Das had any grievance, he should have consulted the party’s senior leaders before sending his resignation. “He was a senior leader. He should not have left the war ground in the middle of the election.”

Singh also clarified that Das was allotted a party symbol from the Tarakeswar seat. “But he did not turn up before the party leaders to collect his symbol,” Singh said.

Friday was the last date for filing nominations for the Tarakeswar seat which goes to the polling in the third phase.