Kolkata: Former CPI(M) MP Jyotirmoyee Sikdar has joined Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday. Her entry into the saffron party comes after Union Home Minister Amit Shah called for a change in Bengal during his virtual rally.
She was elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2004 Lok Sabha by defeating BJP’s former Union minister Satyabrata Mukherjee in the Krishnanagar constituency. In 2009, she contested the CPM ticket but lost the election.
Jyotirmoyee Sikdar is the third leading CPM leader in West Bengal to join the BJP in the last few months.
Sikdar,a middle distance runner, represented India in the Asian Athletics Championships in 1995 and 1998, and participated in the 800 m and 1,500 m events. She won many laurels for India, including gold and bronze medals.
Sikdar aslo won gold medals in the 1998 Asian Games held in Bangkok.
