A day after resigning from the post of chairman of the Hooghly River Bridge Commission, top Trinamool Congress leader Suvendu Adhikari resigned from the Mamata Banerjee cabinet on Friday.
Suvendu Adhikari will fly to Delhi on Saturday. He is all set to join the BJP, sources said. His father, Sisir Adhikari, and his brother Dibyendu, both MPs, are in Delhi now. Suvendu Adhikari also resigned as chairman of Haldia Development Authority in East Midnapore on Friday, leaving only his membership of Trinamool Congress as his connection to Mamata Banerjee.
BJP sources have refused to confirm whether Adhikari would be taken into BJP or not. Suvendu Adhikari is the most important leader of the Trinamool Congress after Mamata Banerjee and is known as the man behind the Nandigram movement of Mamata Banerjee. He is, however, yet to resign from the membership of Trinamool Congress.
Suvendu Adhikari refused to say “yes or no” regarding the development. But top sources in the government said on Friday morning he has sent resignation letter to Mamata Banerjee and wrote to the director of security to withdraw all security for him.
“I do hereby tender my resignation as minister. Steps may be taken for its immediate acceptance,” he wrote.
Suvendu has also sent an email to Governor of West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar and thanked him.
“I have simultaneously by email (informed) to his excellency governor of West Bengal, for doing the needful at his end. I thank you for giving opportunity to serve the people of the state, which I did all through with commitment, dedication and sincerity,” he wrote to Mamata.
The governor said he has received the resignation letter at 1.05pm on Friday. Though governor said he would take steps according to the Constitution, without approval of chief minister, the governor can't accept resignation of a cabinet minister.
The reason behind his resignation and the probable parting of ways with TMC is largely because of the ascent of Prashant Kishore and Mamata’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, who has been rising to the top in the Trinamool Congress.
Adhikari has also left the WhatsApp group of Mamata’s key leaders in TMC.
Adhikari used to be the minister of transport and irrigation in the government of West Bengal. Speculation has been rife for some time that he would join BJP.
Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy said he had no idea about it.
“We are trying to keep him in the party. We love him a lot,” said Roy.
Suvendu Adhikari also wrote to director of security to withdraw his security, which was Z category at the level of state.
Roy had held couple of meetings with Adhikari to restrain him from going to BJP. But it seems that that all such efforts have failed. If Adhikari heads to the BJP, then it would create a major challenge for Mamata Banerjee to keep her house in order.
“Of course, East Midnapore will fall for Trinamool Congress. Junglemahal would be gone as Suvendu played a key role in the Lalgarh movement as well,” said a Trinamool Congress leader.
In another incident, Mihil Goswami, MLA from Cooch Behar, has already resigned from the Trinamool Congress and is headed for Delhi along with BJP MP from Cooch Behar Nisith Pramanik. He is all set to join BJP in the presence of J.P. Nadda and Kailash Vijayvargiya.
Dilip Ghosh, BJP president in Bengal, had said in a rally in Bongaon, “No Bhadralok can stay in Trinamool. The party [Trinamool] would collapse like a pack of cards.”