2024 Polls
Politics won't let me go, says Dev meeting Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata
Kolkata/IBNS: Tollywood superstar-parliamentarian Dev on Saturday dropped a big hint about his political future after meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata amid speculations over his political future.
Dev, a two-term TMC Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal's Ghatal, held a discussion with Abhishek at the latter's Camac Street office and then met TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in Kalighat.
In a one-liner with a far-fetching meaning, Dev told reporters, "As per my understanding, politics won't let me go even if I leave it."
The actor-producer said this amid speculations that he may not contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, which will be held in 2024 summer.
Reacting to the development, Leader of Opposition and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, Suvendu Adhikari, said, "BJP will win by two lakh votes. No one will vote against Modi."
Dev's cryptic post
On the last day of the Budget session of Parliament, Dev spoke about the Ghatal Masterplan for which he has remained vocal for years.
Speaking in Bengali, Dev said, "This is a problem which exists in Ghatal (Dev's constituency) since 1950. It is the problem of people who suffer due to floods. It's not a problem of TMC or BJP. I would request the Prime Minister to execute the Ghatal Masterplan.
"No matter if I stay MP or not, I want the problem to be solved."
Captioning the video, the actor-MP wrote, "My last day in the Parliament.. Thanku Didi. Thanku to the people of Ghatal Loksabha."
Dev steps down from posts
On Wednesday, Dev, who has recently resigned from three government posts in Ghatal, posted in an Instagram story, "Few More Hours."
Meanwhile, in an unverified audio clip, which went viral on social media, two people were heard talking about cut-money culture in Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency.
IBNS did not verify the audio clip.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Hiran Chatterjee has claimed Dev, a massively popular star in West Bengal, is involved in corruption.
Hiran told India Today, "I have always said that Dev is involved in corruption. Now the audio clip of a TMC leader from Ghatal named Shankar Doloi is viral, where he claims that Dev took a cut of 30 per cent from him.
"He said that he even informed Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, but nothing happened."
Earlier, reports had claimed Dev was reluctant to contest in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
Mamata is reportedly keen to field Dev in the upcoming elections, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP will seek a third consecutive tenure.
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