Rebel Trinamool Congress leader and former State Minister Suvendu Adhikari is likely to join the BJP in a week’s time his close aides said. In fact Adhikari, rated as the most powerful mass leader in the TMC after CM Mamata Banerjee may join the BJP as early as on Friday, sources said.
According to sources Adhikari — who held an apolitical rally at Haldia on Tuesday — would first resign his membership in the State Assembly before flying to Delhi on Thursday. On Friday he was likely to join the BJP in presence of senior leaders like Amit Shah and JP Nadda before flying back to Kolkata the next day with the Union Home Minister. The two leaders might hold a joint rally at East Midnapore on Saturday. Shah is coming to Bengal in a two-day visit.
Adhikari who addressed a huge rally at Haldia on Tuesday is the son of powerful Trinamool Congress satrap and former Union Minister Sisir Adhikari, also an MP. His younger brother Divyendu is also a TMC MP.
Dropping hints about Suvendu Adhikari’s saffron plans his close aide Kanishka Panda who was last week expelled from the party said “Bengal, particularly the western part of the State will see a saffron storm in 2021 Assembly elections.”
On Adhikari’s joining the saffron outfit he said we have already been with the saffron ideals as this colour stands for sacrifice and there is no other leader in Bengal who has done a bigger sacrifice than him.”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the first time since Adhikari’s rebellion on Tuesday made a circuitous reference of him and many other leaders who had recently either left the party or had been singing rebellious tunes saying there were people who after profiting from the party for all these years were ditching it.
Apparently referring to Adhikari’s differences with her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, she said “The question is not of hierarchy we but of serving the people… will stand by people and fight for them. That is our resolve... After profiting from the party and the Government some people are hobnobbing with other parties.”
Apart from Adhikari a number of TMC leaders including his former ministerial colleague Rajiv Banerjee, Asansol Mayor and MLA Jitendra Tewari, other Legislators like Mihir Goswami, Sil Bhadra Dutta etc, Coochbehar MLA, Basunia have openly expressed decent in the party. In fact Goswami has already joined the saffron outfit.