A day after resigning as the MLA, Suvendu Adhikari resigned on Thursday as a senior member of the Trinamool Congress, further fueling speculation that he might switch to the BJP in the coming days.
Adhikari, the face of the Nandigram movement that added to Mamata Banerjee’s political clout and catapulted her to power in Bengal in 2011, sent her letter of resignation to the West Bengal Prime Minister and TMC Supreme during the second half of the day. “I am writing to submit my resignation as a member of the All India Trinamool Congress, as well as from all other positions I hold in the party and its associated bodies with immediate effect,” Adhikari wrote.
Ending his two-decade association with the party, the former TMC heavyweight thanked Banerjee for the opportunities he was given and said he would always cherish the time he spent as a member. Some of Adhikari’s supporters indicated that he was likely to join the BJP on Saturday during a saffron match program in Midnapore. Union Interior Minister Amit Shah, who is scheduled to visit Bengal for two days starting on Saturday, will also attend the program.
Adhikari’s resignation from TMC plugs all the rumors that have been abuzz with speculation about his movements since November 26, when he resigned as chairman of the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC). Shortly after, he resigned from the state cabinet.
On Wednesday, he tendered his resignation as a judicial assistant for the Nandigram constituency in the Purba Medinipur district. Lately, he had criticized the management of TMC, on several occasions, for their style of operation. The group made several attempts to woo him, but none were successful.
Insinuating that a rebellion was brewing in the ruling party before the assembly elections, Adhikari held a closed-door meeting Wednesday night with his disgruntled leaders, including Asansol civic body chief Jitendra Tiwari and the Senior MP Sunil Mandal, in the Paschim Bardhaman district. Tiwari, an MLA from the Pandebeshwar constituency who recently criticized the state government for allegedly depriving the industrial city of central funds for “political reasons”, resigned as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Asansol Municipal Corporation on Thursday afternoon.
TMC Senior Leader Diptangshu Choudhary, who was present at the meeting, also tendered his resignation from the post of Chairman of the South Bengal State Transport Corporation.
Praising Adhikari’s decision, BJP National Vice President Mukul Roy stated that “this is the beginning of the end for the ruling party that would now collapse like a house of cards.” He said that the saffron festival would welcome him with open arms. “The day Suvendu Adhikari resigned from the state cabinet, I said that I would be happy if he leaves the TMC and joins the BJP. Today, he left the party. We would be happy to welcome him,” Roy said.
Adhikari’s father, Sisir Adhikari, and his brother Dibyendu, are TMC MPs from the Tamluk and Kanthi Lok Sabha constituencies respectively. The family wields considerable influence over at least 40-45 assembly segments in Paschim Medinipur, Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram, parts of Birbhum, mainly in the Junglemahal region, and some areas in the minority-dominated Murshidabad district.
With the Assembly elections scheduled to take place in April-May, the growing dissent within the TMC, if left unchecked, could hamper the prospects for the party’s elections.
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