Days after resigning from Mamata Banerjee cabinet, Rajib Banerjee on Friday resigned from the Trinamool Congress and the West Bengal Assembly. Rajib was the forest minister in the Bengal government and represented Domjur in Howrah. This comes as another setback for TMC, which is going to contest the West Bengal elections 2021 not only against the BJP,  but also against  the Left- Congress alliance.

Banerjee met Speaker Biman Banerjee at the state Assembly today and submitted his resignation letter.

“I have resigned as the MLA of the state assembly. I submitted my resignation letter to the speaker. I thank my party supremo Mamata Banerjee for providing me with the opportunity to serve the masses,” Banerjee, a two-time MLA, said. Talking to the media after tendering his resignation, Banerjee said that he is still a member of the party but is not yet mentally prepared to take a step.

“I believe to do good for people, & party affiliation is necessary in a dynamic democracy. I will tell you of my decision in coming days”, he added. “In the days to come, I would continue to serve the people of the Domjur constituency,” he further added.

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Earlier, in a letter to the CM, Rajib Banerjee had said, “I regret to inform you that I hereby tender my resignation from my office as Cabinet minister being in charge of Forest department.”

The TMC has been hit by a series of defections ever since Nandigram mascot and party heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari jumped ship to join the BJP along with nine MLAs.

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On Wednesday, TMC MLA from Uttarpara, Prabir Ghosal stepped down as district core committee member and spokesperson of the party’s Hooghly unit. The TMC had issued a show-cause notice to Ghosal for making anti-party remarks.

On January 22, Rajeeb Banerjee had stepped down from his ministerial post. Speculations were rife at that time that he may quit the ruling party to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the crucial assembly elections due in April-May. BJP leaders have already said that some political leaders are likely to join their party during Shah’s visit.

Shah’s weekend tour 

Shah was scheduled to land in Kolkata on Friday and would be camping in the state over the weekend for the party’s election campaign.

Also See: West Bengal 2021: Battleground for BJP and TMC

“On Saturday morning, Shah will be visiting Iskcon, Mayapur. Then he will be going to Thakurnagar in North 24 Parganas, a bastion of Matuas, where he will address a public rally. Later in the day, he will hold a closed-door meeting with social media cell of the party. He has some other engagements too,” a state BJP leader said.

During Shah’s last visit to the state in December 2020, former TMC heavyweight and minister Suvendu Adhikari had joined the BJP.