Rebel Trinamool Congress leader and minister Suvendu Adhikari formally resigned as an MLA of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. Disgruntled with the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, Adhikari had resigned from the state cabinet last month.
“I hereby tender my resignation as a member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Steps may be taken for its immediate acceptance,” the MLA of Nandigram constituency in Purba Medinipur district said in a letter to the Speaker.
According to the sources close to him, Adhikari is likely to resign from the party’s primary membership within a day or two and is expected to cross over to the saffron camp later this week.
His induction is likely to happen during Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state later this week. Adhikari is expected to travel to Delhi before switching sides. He is also expected to be given security by the Union home ministry, formalities for which News18 has learnt are currently in process.
BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy hailed Adhikari’s decision and said the saffron party would welcome him with open arms. “The day Suvendu Adhikari had resigned from the state cabinet, I had said I would be happy if he leaves the TMC and join the BJP. Today he has resigned as MLA, and I welcome his decision,” Roy said.
BJP state president Dilip Ghosh also lauded Adhikari’s decision and said the BJP would be happy to welcome him. Efforts by veteran TMC leaders like Saugata Roy and Sudip Bandopadhyay for reconciliation had failed to placate Adhikari.
Before quitting as the minister for transport and irrigation, Adhikari had been at loggerheads with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and had not been attending state cabinet meetings.
The Trinamool Congress has already decided that it will not take any further initiative to convince the disgruntled Adhikari to remain in the party. However, the party is open to hear him – if at all he has to say something to Banerjee.
Reacting to the development, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said, “it’s a good relief”. “It’s a good relief that he has resigned from the post of MLA. He is overambitious and wants to join BJP as he wants to become the next CM or deputy CM. He can go ahead, we are confident of winning the next assembly polls under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee,” Banerjee said.
For the last few months, Adhikari was seen addressing rallies without using TMC symbols and flags. In all the rallies, a sea of people claiming to be ‘Amra Dadar Anugami’ (elder brother’s followers) were seen marching behind Adhikari.
Adhikari was the key man behind Banerjee’s movement in Nandigram in East Midnapore in 2007 which helped her oust the 34-year Left Front rule in Bengal.
On December 2, he reportedly expressed his dismay through a WhatsApp message to party MP Saugata Roy over details of the meeting (to resolve the differences between him and the party) being leaked to the media claiming that all the ‘issues’ were resolved.
Adhikari, in his message, mentioned that he was supposed to address the media on December 6 but he didn’t like the way details of the meeting were shared to journalists before his scheduled press conference.
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