Updated: December 18, 2020 1:33:27 pm
The Suvendu pass is likely to open the floodgates for an exodus from the TMC to the BJP on multiple levels across the state. (Image used for representation purposes)
One day after the former Minister of Transport Suvendu Adhikari resigned of the Trinamool Congress, the party’s Barrackpore MLA, Shilbhadra Dutta, resigned and sent his resignation to party supreme Mamata Banerjee.
In his resignation letter, Dutta wrote: “I present my resignation as a member of the All India Trinamool Congress, as well as all other positions I hold in the party and its associated organization with immediate effect.” Dutta had previously refused to meet with the party’s electoral strategist, Prashant Kishore, and his team.
On Thursday, Jitendra Tiwari, Pandabeswar MLA and chairman of the Paschim Bardhaman district unit of the TMC, had resigned from all party positions.
Tiwari, former chairman of Asansol Corporation, had recently sent a letter to Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, accusing the government of blocking Rs 2 billion of core funding for the smart city project.
Another TMC MP, Sunil Mandal, and Bengal’s forest minister Rajib Banerjee have also spoken out against the party.
Adhikari’s resignation is likely to trigger an exodus from the TMC to the BJP on multiple levels across the state.
Several TMC rebel leaders and MLAs are likely to join the BJP along with Suvendu in a public meeting chaired by Interior Minister Amit Shah in Medinipur over the weekend, sources said. The rest are likely to wait and watch for now.
Meanwhile, TMC leader Kabirul Islam has also resigned as secretary general of the party’s minority cell. Sources close to Islam confirmed the news and said: “Kabirul Islam sent his resignation letter today to the chairman of the minority cell of the party, Haji Sheikh Nurul Islam. He has expressed his disgust against the party’s top leadership and the team of his political strategist Prashant Kishor. He has expressed his wish to follow Suvendu Adhikari wherever he goes. “
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