KolkataTrinamool Congress vice-president Pavan Varma on Friday submitted his resignation to chief Mamata Banerjee after a brief 10-month stint, asserting that the TMC was a “Bengal-centric party” where he saw “no role” for himself. Forward to “keep in touch” though he saw.
“I want to thank you for the warm welcome given to me, and for your affection and courtesy. I look forward to getting in touch,” he tweeted after leaving the party.
Verma had joined the Trinamool in November 2021 – during Mamata Banerjee’s visit to New Delhi – and a month later was appointed the party’s national vice-president. Two other leaders Kirti Azad and Ashok Tanwar also joined him. During his stay in TMC, he attended the National Working Committee meeting at Mamata’s official residence and also shared the stage with her in Mumbai, where he met a group of intellectuals to fight the BJP.
Speaking to ThePrint after resigning, Pavan Varma said, “Trinamool is a Bengal-centric party, and I don’t see any role for me to play. This is a personal decision which I have taken and conveyed to Mamata ji.” However, Verma did not reveal any political plan.
TMC MP Sukhendu Shekhar Roy said Verma’s departure will not affect him. “Everyone has the right to join a political party or resign. It is Verma’s personal decision to quit,” he told ThePrint. Responding to the allegation of TMC being a “Bengal-centric” party, Roy said, “Perhaps Pavan Varma is internationally oriented, so he felt that way.”
life before joining politics
Pavan Varma, a former diplomat who served in the Indian Foreign Service, has been the Indian ambassador to Bhutan and Cyprus and the director of the Nehru Center in London. He was also the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Born in Nagpur, Verma graduated from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi and authored several best-selling books, including translations of poems by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Gulzar and Kaifi Azmi. Verma entered the Rajya Sabha in 2014.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had chosen Pavan Varma as his advisor and made him general secretary of JD(U) in 2016. He was the party’s national spokesperson and became a regular face on television debates, in addition to writing columns in national dailies. , He had an altercation with Nitish over the NRC-CAA debate and was expelled from the party in 2020 along with Prashant Kishor for not following “party discipline”.
Verma has won many awards in his long illustrious career. He is also the recipient of Bhutan’s highest civilian award. He has won several literary honors and has been awarded honorary doctorates from Indianapolis University and the Sharda Indian Institute of Management.
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