Major blow to TMC as rebel party leader Suvendu Adhikari resigns as MLA

In a major blow to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) ahead of the West Bengal Assembly election in 2021, rebel party leader Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday tendered his resignation from the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.

Adhikari, the MLA of Nandigram constituency in Purba Medinipur district, resigned from the state cabinet in November. He has been maintaining distance with the party leadership for quite some time. 

On December 15, BJP MP Nisith Pramanik had said that Adhikari is likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) soon, as reported by news agency ANI. "The wait is about to end and we might hear the good news soon that Shubhendu Adhikari is joining BJP. Shubhendu Adhikari is a popular leader and has made important contributions toward the betterment of his constituency. If such a leader will join the BJP, the party will be prosperous. We believe that we are going to get the good news soon," Pramanik told ANI.

The BJP leader explained that if Subhendu Adhikari joined BJP, it will have a huge impact mostly in South Bengal, old Midnapore, West Midnapore, and many other areas like Murshidabad. "In 2019, the people of North Bengal had overthrown the Trinamool Congress. The party has a bit of grip in South Bengal. But if Shubhendu Adhikari joins BJP, they`ll lose that too," he said further.

The BJP MP from Cooch Behar in West Bengal said many other seniors, as well as junior leaders, are in touch with BJP and they might join the party soon. "If we take all the TMC leaders who are in touch with us, then TMC`s numbers (in legislative assembly) will lessen before 2021 assembly elections," he stated.

He alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is running a dictatorship in the state and is trying to break the federal structure of the country. "The anarchy in West Bengal is going against the Indian constitution. They are trying to break the federal structure. West Bengal is a state and should function in cooperation with the central government... Mamata Banerjee is trying to run a dictatorship. She`s trying to destroy West Bengal," the BJP leader claimed.

He claimed there is a Bua-Bhatija raj (Aunt-Nephew Rule) in West Bengal, and Banerjee and her nephew cum Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee is running a government of syndicates in the state. "The TMC government is the government of syndicates. It is the government of goon-rule and Mafia raj and the whole country knows that. Recently when BJP president JP Nadda went there, we saw how he was treated. Now it`s clear that in West Bengal there is a syndicate rule. In India, all political parties have the right to campaign as they want, but in West Bengal, there is a rule of Bua and Bhatija. They say that only they can campaign and no other parties can campaign. This can`t go on in democratic India," Pramanik added. 

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