Kolkata, April 12, 2026: In a significant political development ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, Chandra Kumar Bose, grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, formally joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday.
Chandra Kumar Bose, grandson of Netaji’s elder brother Sarat Chandra Bose, took the decision in Kolkata, marking a major shift in his political journey. He had earlier joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2016 with much fanfare in the presence of then party president Amit Shah and had served as the BJP’s vice-president in West Bengal. He contested the 2016 Assembly elections from Bhawanipur against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Kolkata Dakshin, though he lost both.
Bose resigned from the BJP in September 2023, describing his decision to join the saffron party as a “historic mistake” and citing ideological differences. He argued that the BJP’s approach relied on polarisation and division, which clashed with his vision of an inclusive and secular politics inspired by Netaji’s ideals of unity and communal harmony. Since then, he has positioned himself as an independent socio-political activist advocating for secularism and opposing what he calls divisive politics.
Recent months saw Bose sharing the stage with Mamata Banerjee during Netaji’s birth anniversary events in January 2026, where he urged her to emerge as a “national leader.” He has also praised the TMC supremo’s deep understanding of Bengal’s grassroots issues.
While joining the TMC, Bose is expected to strengthen the party’s outreach, particularly among sections that value Netaji’s legacy and inclusive Bengali identity. The move comes at a time when West Bengal’s political landscape is heating up for the 2026 polls, with both TMC and BJP intensifying campaigns.
Reacting to the development, TMC circles described the induction as a boost that brings the moral weight of the Bose family legacy into the party’s fold. BJP leaders, on the other hand, downplayed the significance, pointing to Bose’s earlier electoral setbacks in the state.
Chandra Kumar Bose, who holds an economics background and has long campaigned for the declassification of Netaji files, has often emphasised the need for unity across like-minded forces to protect social harmony and democratic values in Bengal and beyond.
This development is being closely watched as it could influence narratives around Netaji’s political inheritance in the polarised politics of West Bengal.
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