Updated: November 22, 2020 10:56:59 am
However, a section of TMC leadership believes that Suvendu Adhikari can still be kept in the party fold.
A section of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership is pushing for reconciliation between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and dissident leader Suvendu Adhikari, and believes that Adhikari will remain in the party if Banerjee fixes things with him.
It is known that TMC deputy Saugata Roy will meet with Adhikari on Monday to arrange a meeting between him and Banerjee. A senior TMC leader, who did not want to be named, said Saturday: “He has no grudge against Mamata Banerjee. He is angry with some party leaders, but if Didi speaks sympathetically to him, he will never leave our party. Suvendu is our asset. We shouldn’t let it go. It has a huge cadre base. If you leave the party before the Assembly elections, the party will face a huge loss of face.
In recent weeks, Adhikari, who is the state’s transportation minister, has criticized his party and addressed political rallies with non-TMC banners. The gap widened during the “Nandigram Dibas” demonstrations earlier this month in which both sides made spiteful speeches.
Also, during the past month, posters with Adhikari’s photo have appeared in Medinipur and other parts of the Jangalmahal area. These posters were put up by an organization called “Dadar Anugami [Elder brother’s followers]”. On Saturday, these posters were seen in the Shyambazar area of Kolkata.
However, a section of TMC leadership believes that Adhikari can still remain in the party fold. His hopes were renewed after the minister on Thursday quelled rumors that he would join the BJP. The state chairman of the opposition party, Dilip Ghosh, has made offers to Adhikari to put on his gear. “I am still a member of a party. I remain a minister in the cabinet of the government of West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee has not asked me to resign nor have I decided to leave. I am not a man who lets go of my ideology for the sake of politics, ”he said at the rally in Ramnagar in the Purba Medinipur district.
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