Kolkata, July 31 (TIWN) Former Union minister and BJP Lok Sabha MP from Asansol, Babul Supriyo, on Saturday announced that he has decided to quit politics.

"I would like to say there was a lot of contradiction between me and the party leadership that started way before the elections. I thought that was normal but those incidents were often being brought to the fore. For that, some leaders were as much responsible as myself as I too had shared a post on social media which can be seen as an act of breaching party discipline," said Supriyo. "However, it was clear that clash of opinions among the senior leadership was not only harmful for the party, but was enough to break the confidence of ground-zero workers. This was unwanted.," he further said. The singer-turned politician also said he is resigning as member of Parliament and will vacate his government allotted residence within a month. While bringing up his win in 2014, Supriyo said a lot has changed for the BJP in the state since then.

"The scenario in Bengal in 2014 was quite different from that of 2019. With all due respect to SS Ahluwalia, with GJM being BJP's ally in Darjeeling back then, I have to say that I was the only one on a BJP ticket. But today BJP is the main opposition party in Bengal. The party today has both young and experienced members, who can help the party go a long way. Nevertheless, it has been made clear that an absence of a particular face from the party won't make a lot of difference today. And I believe I'm making the right choice by accepting this fact," said Supriyo.