Feb 18 (IANS): Popular Bengali actor Yash Dasgupta joined the BJP on Wednesday along with actors Raj Mukherjee, Ashok Bhadra, Meenakshi Ghosh, Mallika Banerjee, Papiya Adhikari, Soumili Ghosh Biswas and Emila Bhattacharjee.

The actors were welcomed into the BJP by national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and the party's national vice-president Mukul Roy.

Dasgupta, a close friend of Trinamool MP Nusrat Jahan, said after joining the saffron camp, "I respect Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. But I wanted to join the BJP to work for the people of the state, as the BJP has always given opportunities to the youth. All of us have to work for a change for the better."

The latest development came at a time when talks are doing the rounds that veteran Bollywood actor Mithun Chakraborty may join the BJP after he recently met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in Mumbai.

The ruling Trinamool Congress has been witnessing an exodus of leaders who have jumped ship to the saffron party, including former ministers Rajib Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari.

The joining comes ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the poll-bound West Bengal on Thursday where he will flag off the party's fifth and final phase of 'Poriborton Yatra'.

The 294-member West Bengal Assembly is lkely to go to the polls in April and May this year.

In a press statement, BJP Rajya Sabha member and media in-charge Anil Baluni said that during his two-day stay, Shah will flag off the Poriborton Yatra from the Indira Maidan in Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas district on Thursday.