Updated: December 17, 2020 5:28:46 pm
Trinamool rebel Congress leader Suvendu Adhikari
In a double jolt to the ruling TMC in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) Leaders Suvendu Adhikari and Jitendra Tiwari resigned from the party’s main membership on Thursday. Adhikari, who resigned as Nandigram MLA on Wednesday, submitted his resignation to the party supreme and West Bengal’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee. Adhikari is expected to join the BJP soon.
In its resignation letter, Adhikari said he was “grateful for all the challenges and opportunities” and that he would always cherish the time he spent as a member of TMC.
Adhikari represented Nandigram district in the Purba Medinipur district and he was the face of the Nandigram movement, which catapulted Mamata Banerjee to power in 2011.
Suvendu resignation letter.
Adhikari, who had been distancing yourself from the party in recent months and heading to rallies outside the party lineup, it’s hoped to join the BJP along with some rebel TMC leaders when Interior Minister Amit Shah visits West Bengal on December 19-20.
The BJP general secretary and the party’s West Bengal head Kailash Vijayvargiya said: “He (Adhikari) is a very dynamic leader. If you want to join BJP, you are welcome but it will depend on your decision.
Looking indirectly at Adhikari, Mamata had said on Wednesday: “One or two come at high tide and go out at low. Does not matter.”
“Those who were at Trinamool from day one are still here. They will keep fighting. Remember, they will not change your character. You change your clothes but not your ideology, ”said the prime minister, who is on a three-day tour of North Bengal.
Suvendu had resigned from the state cabinet last month. Following this, Adhikari’s associate Kanishka Panda, who was TMC’s Purba Medinipur district secretary, was expelled by the party.
Like Suvendu, some other party leaders had also criticized the party leadership for neglecting key leaders within the party. Before leaving the party, Jitendra Tiwari resigned as head of the Asansol Municipal Corporation. The development comes days after he accused the state government of depriving the industrial city of core funds under the smart city project.
Tiwari, chairman of the Paschim Bardhaman district of the Trinamool Congress, also praised Suvendu Adhikari as the second most important leader of the party after Mamata Banerjee. “I have resigned from the position of president of the Board of Directors of the Municipal Corporation Asansol. If I am not allowed to work, what will I do with the post? So, I have resigned, ”he told reporters.
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