Raiganj MLA Krishna Kalyani, who had won on a BJP ticket in the 2021 Assembly polls, resigned on Wednesday following his nomination as a Trinamul Congress candidate in the Raiganj Lok Sabha segment.

Kalyani reached the Assembly in Calcutta on Wednesday and handed over his resignation letter to Speaker Biman Banerjee.

“There was no compulsion but yet, I resigned from an ethical point of view. As I am contesting in the Parliament elections, I don’t want to be in any other elected post. Besides, it would stop my political opponents from accusing me of using my MLA post to earn political dividends,” Kalyani said over the phone from Calcutta.

In 2021, Kalyani won the Raiganj seat and within a year, he defected to Trinamul.

After his defection, Kalyani was made the chairman of the public accounts committee (PAC) of the Assembly, saying he was an Opposition MLA.

“Krishna Kalyani has always stood by people in his personal capacity. Now, I have the support of Mamata Banerjee to do more for people. My victory is just a matter of time,” he said.

Basudeb Sarkar, the North Dinajpur district president of the BJP, said: “Ahead of the Assembly elections, he joined the BJP. After winning the seat, he ditched BJP supporters and common voters and joined Trinamul to fulfil his interests. It was surprising that despite joining Trinamul, he didn’t resign and continued as the chairman of the PAC. He has resigned now as has been facing questions from people during the campaign. Such a move will not help him.”