From Naxalite to BJP: Mithun Chakravarti’s Journey and His Claim of Political Normalcy

Mithun Chakravarti, the actor‑politician who began his activist life in the Naxalbari movement, used a Diwali event in Mumbai on November 10 to proclaim that West Bengal has shed its "goonda raj" legacy. Speaking to the media, he dismissed opposition narratives that the state remains under the grip of thugs.

He reflected on the past fifteen years, questioning whether any real freedom was experienced during what he described as an era of intimidation. Chakravarti argued that the opposition’s reliance on the thug‑rule argument exposes a lack of concrete policy alternatives.

The Trinamool Congress, which has led West Bengal for the same fifteen‑year span, has cited incidents of rural intimidation in areas such as West Medinipur and South 24‑Parganas, where reports of threats, damage to churches and obstruction of funeral rites have been documented.

Chakravarti’s personal political timeline mirrors these shifts. He served as a TMC legislator for roughly three years, was nominated by then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to the Rajya Sabha in February 2014, resigned on 26 December 2016, and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party before the 2021 state elections, an occasion marked by the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya.

After leaving the Naxalite cause due to family crises, Chakravarti earned a diploma from the Film and Television Institute of India, built a successful acting career, and later transitioned into politics, moving from left‑leaning activism to a centrist regional party and finally to the right‑wing BJP. His current assertion that the "goonda raj" is over signals his belief that West Bengal is moving toward a more stable and democratic political environment.