Descendant of novelist and poet Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Sumitra Chattopadhyay, addresses a press conference after joining BJP, at party State office in Kolkata. Union Minister Bhupender Yadav was also present. | Photo Credit: ANI Sumitra Chattopadhyay, a fifth-generation descendant of littérateur Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, on Thursday (February 26, 2026) joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The development comes ahead of Assembly elections in West Bengal when the BJP is highlighting the contribution of Chattopadhyay and the song Vande Mataram written by him. Mr. Chattopadhyay, a former official with the State Labour Department, was formally welcomed into the party by BJP State president Samik Bhattacharya and Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav. On creating jobs in Bengal After being handed over the party flag, Mr. Chattopadhyay raised serious concerns regarding the State government policy on employment generation. The new entrant in the BJP criticised the West Bengal government’s Yuva Sathi scheme, which promises an unemployment allowance of ₹1,500 per month. He pointed out that the Trinamool Congress had discontinued a similar project, …