TMC leader Yashwant Sinha quits party ahead of presidential polls

On June 21, Trinamool Congress (TMC) vice president Yashwant Sinha announced that he is stepping aside from the TMC for a "greater opposition unity." He took to Twitter to announce that he is leaving TMC.

"I am grateful to Mamataji for the honour and prestige she bestowed on me in TMC. Now a time has come when for a larger national cause, I must step aside from the party to work for greater opposition unity. I am sure she approves of the step," his tweet reads.

Former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha joined the TMC on March 13 2022, and was made party vice president and a member of the party's national working committee soon. He had earlier served as finance minister and external affairs minister under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Sinha's entry into TMC happened just weeks prior to the Assembly polls in West Bengal.

When joining TMC, he had then stated that the BJP of today isn't what it was during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's time. He further added that democracy is in danger under the BJP. "Atalji believed in consensus, the present BJP believes in crushing," Yashwant Sinha had said.

His move to quit becomes much more notable since it's only a few weeks remain for the Presidential election. President Ram Nath Kovind's five-year term is coming to an end on July 24. His successor will be assuming office the next day on July 25. According to the Election Commission's announcement, voting for the next president will be held on July 18, and counting votes will be held on July 21.

On June 15, Opposition parties adopted a resolution to field a common candidate for the upcoming presidential election. Reports suggest that in the meeting that went on for almost an hour, the elections were discussed in detail, and a big announcement is likely to be made soon. Further, Opposition parties are expected  to meet in Delhi on Tuesday to decide on their joint candidate for the presidential polls scheduled to be held on July 18.