In another major blow to the West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), forest minister Rajib Banerjee resigned on Friday from the government amid speculations that he too may join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the assembly elections.

Banerjee, the legislator from Domjur, is the second minister from Howrah district and the third minister in the state to resign on the eve of the crucial state polls. He had skipped five consecutive meetings of the state cabinet and more than a dozen party programmes since September last year, when he started voicing his dissent against a section of the leadership in Howrah.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) sent a strong message to its rebel leaders on Friday evening by expelling Vaishali Dalmiya, the legislator from Bally in Howrah district, hours after Rajib Banerjee quit the cabinet.

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Suvendu Adhikari, the leader from East Midnapore district resigned from the government and the TMC and joined the BJP on December 19. Former Indian cricketer and sports and youth affairs minister Laxmi Ratan Shukla resigned from the party on January 5. He served as the president of the Howrah district unit. The government immediately relieved him of his ministerial responsibilities.

On Friday, Rajib Banerjee sent his resignation letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee in the morning. “I regret to inform you that I hereby tender my resignation from my office as a cabinet minister being in charge of the forest department. It has been a great honour and privilege to serve the people of West Bengal. I heartily convey my gratitude for getting this opportunity,” the letter said.

Banerjee went to the Raj Bhawan in the afternoon and submitted a copy of the letter to governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. After meeting the governor, Banerjee told the media that he wanted to resign as minister two and a half years ago when he was removed from the irrigation department.

“I held a meeting of the irrigation department in north Bengal on that day and was at a party meeting when I saw on television that I had been removed from the department. I was not even aware of it. I was extremely hurt that I got the news from television. Reshuffling the cabinet is the chief minister’s prerogative but the minimum decency was not shown to me,” said Banerjee.

“I met the chief minister and said that I would no longer serve as minister. She stopped me. Subsequently, I served as a minister in several departments such as tribal welfare and jails. I am grateful to the chief minister for giving me the opportunity to serve. People will decide whether I did well or not,” said Banerjee.

“I will continue to serve the people from whatever platform I get,” he added but avoided questions on his next move.

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Banerjee’s voice chocked while he was speaking to the media and tears rolled down his cheeks. “For the past one and a half months I was extremely hurt by the behaviour of some of my party colleagues. I never made any personal attack. I feel extremely hurt today. I had no option but to resign. I offer my apology if I have hurt anyone,” he said.

Banerjee said that before meeting the governor he went to the chief minister’s office at her residence and submitted the resignation letter.

BJP’s Barrackpore Lok Sabha member and Rajib Banerjee’s former colleague in the TMC, Arjun Singh said that the young minister would be welcomed into the BJP if he decides to join.

TMC Lok Sabha member and party spokesperson Saugata Roy said, “This will not make any difference to the TMC. If people like these leave, our party will get more consolidated.”

Vaishali Dalmiya, who was expelled from TMC, had also voiced dissent against the TMC leadership in the district. Former Howrah mayor Rathin Chakraborty had also aired his dissent.

Like Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Banerjee was one of the younger faces in the cabinet. He was also known for his clean image. While Shukla has said that he will stay away from politics and dedicate himself to sports, Banerjee did not comment on his future plans till Friday afternoon. There are speculations that he and some more TMC leaders may join the BJP during the next visits of Union home minister Amit Shah or BJP national president J P Nadda.

In 2011 Assembly polls, Banerjee was elected from Domjur constituency in Howrah district on a TMC ticket. Banerjee was made the state Irrigation and Waterways Minister. In 2016, he retained the seat. However, in the 2018 Cabinet reshuffle, he was removed from the post. Banerjee was later made the minister in charge of Tribal Affairs and Backward Classes department. After the TMC lost its Lok Sabha seats in tribal areas to the BJP in the 2019 General Elections, Banerjee was again removed from his post and made the forest minister.

A graduate from St. Xavier’s College, Banerjee holds an MBA degree from International Institute of Management Education (IIME). He also has a Diploma in Computer Application.

Reputation of Rajib Banerjee

Known for being a soft-spoken person, Banerjee has earned the reputation of being one of the best performing ministers in the Mamata Banerjee cabinet. He was also in-charge of the party’s affairs in rural areas of Howrah district and was instrumental in ensuring the TMC’s victory in Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. He has influence over five Assembly seats in Howrah district and possesses good organizational qualities.

Unlike Suvendu Adhikari who defected to the BJP last month, Banerjee has not been involved in any scams and there are no major allegations against him within or outside the party. He may not be a prized catch for the BJP, which has given an open invitation to him to join the party after his resignation, but the saffron party could benefit from his clean image and experience as a state minister.

Impact of his resignation

Banerjee’s resignation is likely to cause another setback to the TMC ahead of Assembly polls. This will lower the morale of the party’s rank and file and at the same time could encourage the fence-sitters and rebel party leaders to follow suit.

Apart from Vaishali Dalmiya, there are several party leaders and MLAs like Prabir Ghoshal, Rabindranath Bhattacharya and others who have expressed dissent over the functioning of the party.

Ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state on January 30, Banerjee’s resignation could lead to another group of TMC leaders defecting to the BJP. On December 19 last year, seven TMC MLAs including Suvendu Adhikari, one TMC MP, and one former TMC MP had joined the saffron camp.

According to the BJP, Amit Shah is scheduled to hold a public meeting in Dumurjala Stadium in Howrah district on January 31.

Banerjee, Dalmiya and Shukla have their constituencies in Howrah district which is considered as one of the strongholds of the party. With these three leaders no more with the TMC, the BJP stands to make a massive gain in the district if it manages to rope them in.