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Folk singer caught in the tug of war between the TMC and BJP

tmc and bjp

Days after the home minster Amit Shah had lunch at his humble home at Bolpur in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, folk singer Basudeb Das Baul has been caught in a tug of war between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Shah, who was on a two-day tour of West Bengal, took a chopper ride to Bolpur on December 20 to visit Visva Bharati, the state’s only Central university set up by Rabindranath Tagore and also led a BJP rally. In between, the two programmes, Shah had home-cooked lunch at the singer’s home and also enjoyed his music.

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

On Tuesday evening, Das was spotted at the office of the TMC district president Anubrata Mondal. Das complained before the local media that he was not given an opportunity to talk to Shah and seek a job or higher education facilities for his daughter.

“After Shah left, nobody from the BJP bothered to talk to me although they came to me with the request to host the lunch. I did all the shopping. They only bought the sweets served that day,” said Das. “I am under no pressure from the TMC. I came to Mondal voluntarily,” he added. This shows that BJP only comes in to fuel its political agenda while TMC atleast cares for the people in terms of welfare.

Also see: Battleground of Bengal election 2021

“I have told the education cell of our party to ensure that the singer’s daughter gets admission to the bachelor of education course. Shah’s visit to his home was nothing but a drama,” said Mondal.

The BJP jumped into the fray without wasting time. Anupam Hazra, who was the TMC’s Lok Sabha member from Bolpur before joining the BJP in 2019, posted a note on social media along with his photograph with Das. “How come nobody bothered to inquire about this family in 10 years? After Shah visited their home, everybody is suddenly showing concern,” said Hazra who had accompanied Shah. Das is the third person in Bengal who got caught in political crossfire for playing host to Shah.

On November 5, Shah had lunch at the home of Bibhishan Hansda, a member of the tribal community at Chaturdihi village in Bankura district. A day later, chief minister Mamata Banerjee alleged in public that the food was cooked by a Brahmin brought from outside. She also alleged during the same speech that the food was brought from a “five-star hotel”. TMC’s top leaders had even accused Shah of playing caste politics.

Leaders from the TMC and the BJP, as well as officers from the district administration, called on Hansda with the offer to get the best treatment for his teenage daughter Rachana who is suffering from diabetes.

TMC leaders also claimed that Hansda, a marginal farmer, had always been a party supporter but the tribal man claimed to be an apolitical person with no connection with either of the parties. “I am not part of any organization. If anyone takes pity and offers to help I will accept it but it should not be part of politics,” Hansda had said last month.

Significantly, when Shah was having lunch at Hansda’s home, the TMC government had made a surprise move at Naxalbari in Darjeeling district.

Gita Mahali, the poor tribal woman who had played host to Shah and cooked lunch for him during a similar visit in April 2017, was appointed as special home guard at Naxalbari police station. She was given an appointment letter. Ranjan Sarkar, the TMC district president said that the government came forward as the BJP did nothing for the Mahalis in three years. The chief minister also announced that the government will form separate organizations to look after the welfare of backward caste communities.

Referring to Shah’s visit to the folk singer’s home in Bolpur, education minister Partha Chatterjee on Wednesday said, “Shah heard his song but did not listen to his man ki baat. Only Mamata Banerjee is concerned about the people of Bengal.”

The folk singer said that he will be present at the TMC roadshow that the chief minister will lead in Bolpur town on December 29. It will start from the Dakbungalow Road intersection from where Shah’s roadshow was flagged off on Sunday.

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Rajib Banerjee highlighted that there is difference between his and Suvendu’s cases in the party

State minister of forest affairs, Rajib Banerjee said that his circumstance in the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was not equivalent to that of Suvendu Adhikari. While Adhikari joined BJP, Banerjee, who had likewise criticized the TMC as of late, met senior party leader Partha Chatterjee.

Surprisingly, four ministers were missing from a cabinet meeting called by Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday, raising doubts over the possibility of yet more Trinamool leaders switching political camps ahead of next year’s Assembly election. Partha Chatterjee, the Secretary-General of the TMC, said that out of the four, three offered perfectly valid explanations. Rajib Banerjee, the fourth, remained incommunicado till late in the evening.

Among various rebels and disgruntled leaders like Adhikari in TMC, Kanishka Panda was expelled from the party for anti-party activities. Panda was secretary of the TMC unit in the East Midnapore area where the Adhikari family represents two Lok Sabha seats, an assembly seat, and heads an urban body. TMC secretary-general Partha Chatterjee and election strategist Prashant Kishor had held a 60 minutes meeting with the forest minister Banerjee at Chatterjee’s residence at Naktala in south Kolkata. While Chatterjee stayed quiet about the meeting, Banerjee asserted that the discussions covered “political strategy.”

Also see: Trilateral fight in West Bengal election 2021

Leaders close to the minister, however, said that he raised issues, for example, corruption and nepotism by certain leaders in the Howrah area, where Banerjee represents the Domjur assembly seat while conversing with Chatterjee and Kishor.

Rajib Banerjee said, “I attended the meeting as a party worker. We examined procedure for the coming days. I cannot impart much else to the media. In a gathering, there can be disappointed individuals and there can be individuals who are over-satisfied. These things are figured out through discussion. I will be accessible on the off chance that I am called for additional discussions.” The forest minister further added, “My case is not equivalent to that of Suvendu Adhikari. We are two separate people and we have separate perspectives. Our circumstances cannot be analyzed or compared.”

Banners supporting Rajib Banerjee and Adhikari have been showing up across West Bengal, including Kolkata, since last month, stoking speculation that the two famous and comparatively younger leaders, may leave the TMC. Eventually, Adhikari did leave TMC and joined BJP which further triggered the speculation about the future of Rajib Banerjee in TMC. In this regard, posters with pictures of Banerjee and the words, “symbol of honesty ” written in Bengali, showed up in Howrah.

Also see: Battleground of Bengal election 2021

Making things tough for the party, Mihir Goswami, the legislator from the Cooch Behar South constituency in north Bengal, recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while Shilbhadra Datta, TMC MLA from Barrackpore assembly constituency  in North 24 Parganas, has tendered his resignation from the party and switched over to BJP. Goswami and Dutta had recently spoken in public against deploying I-PAC, Kishor’s organization, and working on its recommendations. Senior TMC leaders had revealed a month ago that Adhikari was explicitly discontent with organizational decision taken by Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee and Kishor, who was roped in after the BJP won 18 of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2019.

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Suvendu Adhikari with other leaders from TMC joined into BJP at the Midnapore rally of Amit Shah

Bringing an end to the long-running grapevine generating speculations looming over his political career, ex-TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari joined BJP as he took up the saffron flag from the hands of Amit Shah. Adhikari was introduced to BJP with a thunderous applaud from the huge crowd present at Shah’s rally in Midnapore collegiate ground.

Adhikari, the former Minister of Transport, Irrigation, and Water resource in Government of West Bengal, has taken with him a total of more than 40 TMC leaders to the BJP.

Nine MLAs, 6 from TMC, one from CPIM, one from CPI, and one from the INC joined BJP. One sitting and a former TMC MP also defected to the saffron hindutva camp. The following are the names of the leaders who switched loyalty: Banasree Maity- Contai North MLA (TMC), Tapasi Mondal- Haldiya purba MLA(CPIM), Ashok dinda-Tamluk MLA (CPI), Sudip Mukherjee-Purulia(INC), Biswajit Kundu-Kalna(TMC), Saikat Panja- Burdwan Purba(TMC), Shilbhadra Dutta-Barrackpore(TMC), Dipali Biswas- Gajol Maldah (TMC), Sukra Munda- Nagarkata, Jalpaiguri(TMC).

The MP of Burdwan Purba, Sunil Mondal followed the suit, kept his allegiance to Adhikari and joined into BJP. SP Mukherjee, an ex parliamentarian had travelled to the venue of the mega-rally at Midnapore from the guest house in Kolaghat, where all the defecting leaders from TMC had gathered. Some other prominent faces in TMC who switched sides to BJP were Col. Diptangshu Chaudhury, Ashish Dutta, and Bappa Majumdar from Alipurduar, Kartik Pal and Prafulla Barman from Uttar Dinajpur, former MLAs in Dakshin Dinajpur-Satyen Ray & Debashish Majumdar and others.

Since the ground-level support for TMC was bolstered by the efforts and organization of Suvendu Adhikari, and as his supporters are spread across almost all districts in West Bengal, this shift of Adhikari and others to BJP can impact the election. But, the TMC has maintained that it would not have that much effect on the upcoming state assembly elections. The confidence of TMC reflects the support that the party would get from other non- BJP parties like NCP.

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After Suvendu Adhikari, MLA Jitendra Tiwari exited the TMC party-criticizes TMC after quitting

Jitendra Tiwari

After the exit of Suvendu Adhikari, MLA Jitendra Tiwari on Thursday exited the TMC party stating that he has not been allowed to work for the people. After quitting as MLA, Suvendu Adhikari on December 16 had resigned from the primary membership of the TMC, intensifying speculations that he might switch over to the BJP later this week.

MLA Tiwari has also resigned from his post of a primary member of the party. He heavily criticized the TMC-led government after quitting and said that the state government does not value his life. Tiwari becomes the second leader to resign from the party within a span of 24 hours, following the footsteps of rebel TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari who resigned from the party on Wednesday.

“I have resigned from the post of the chairman of the Board of Administrators of Asansol Municipal Corporation. If I am not allowed to work, what will I do with the post? So, I resigned,” Tiwari was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.

“There is no point in continuing in the TMC as I am not being allowed to work for the people,” Tiwari alleged.

His exit comes when the speculations are rife with reports of TMC leaders switching parties and joining Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), even as the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that BJP leaders are trying to coerce her party members to exit and join the “saffron camp”.

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West Bengal election 2021: Countering the formidable TMC in Bengal proving to be an onerous task for the BJP

West Bengal election 2021

After the convoy of JP Nadda was attacked while it was going for a rally in Diamond Harbour, it was blamed that the attack was staged by BJP leadership for drawing attention to law and order issue. Subsequently, BJP has got more desperate to make inroads into the Bengal polity. Prior to the state’s crucial assembly polls in 2021, BJP has come up with separate cells that would maintain liaison with certain target groups. This development comes in parallel to JP Nadda being tested positive for Covid19.

Central leaders, including Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda, among others, who would be camping in the state in the run-up to the elections would meet the members of these groups. Nadda would probably camp in the state after his home quarantine ends after testing positive for Coronavirus- disease.

While Nadda met members of the fishermen community in South 24-Parganas during his two-day visit to the state, Shah had lunch with a Matua family in Bengal in early-November. Shah is expected to visit Bengal again next week and is likely to visit Bongaon in North 24-Parganas district, which houses the headquarters of the Matuas, a Dalit refugee group with origins in Bangladesh and spread over 50 assembly seats in the state.

Multiple cells have been formed to work with and maintain liaison with various target groups including teachers, doctors, traders, ex-servicemen, sportsmen, and fishermen, among others. Each cell would have one convener and between one to six co-converners.

TMC has recently begun its outreach campaign to highlight its welfare programmes, which is giving a blow to the efforts of BJP to polarize the voters.

Also see: West Bengal election 2021: Battleground for TMC & BJP

A senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity stated, “As each community has its own set of issues and problems. Each cell working with a particular community would be well-versed with the developments in that community. When our central leaders come to Bengal and meet and interact with these communities, the cells will maintain the liaison.”

Shah and Nadda are expected to visit the state separately every month till the assembly elections are over. Shah who is expected to visit the state next week could also visit Shantiniketan.

Buoyed by its impressive gains in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections where the BJP had won 40% of the vote share in Bengal and had bagged 18 out of the 42 seats in the state, the party is now eyeing for the state assembly.

But, politically speaking, things do not look that great for the saffron party with Bimal Gurung having recently switched to the TMC camp. Gurung had stated that BJP had failed to keep promises in the context of the Gorkhaland issue, and hence GJM led by him is now poised to support the TMC. Recently, Dilip Ghosh of BJP had tried to bring Chatradhar Mahato under the saffron party by promising respect, which he claimed, is absent in the TMC camp. Coaxing outreach by the central home minister to cajole and polarize voters in the favour of the saffron party in the Jangalmahal has been countered by the Bengal CM by providing welfare programmes and jobs.

Top state office-bearers of the saffron party with knowledge of the development said that 294 BJP leaders will be arriving in Bengal from Delhi and other states to work with the local unit for polls. The office-bearers said that the arriving leaders would be part of a 45-member team to be set up for each constituency & existing district committees will assist these teams.

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Bengal Government led by TMC under Mamata Banerjee completes 10 years as the ruling regime of West Bengal

Trinamool Congress – TMC just completed its 10 years as a ruling party in West Bengal. It is looking forward to releasing the party’s final report card. The major point of focus shall be the development and reforms brought in by the party since it came into power in 2011 after dislodging Left front from the power.

The recent highlight of TMC is the biggest outreach program it launched, as part of which the workers and leaders of TMC would reach 10 million households in the state focusing on the development strategies. The report card is crucial as it plays an integral role in the upcoming 2021 assembly polls. As per a statement issued by a senior TMC official, the report card will highlight the entire development program launched by TMC in the past 10 years. The official further added, “Each department of the government would come up with its own ledger on what it has done in these years, projects launched and promises kept. The report card would highlight more than a dozen programs of the government.”

TMC has also introduced a new outreach programme called ‘Bongodhhoni’ which means ‘sound of Bengal’. Launched by the party leader and Chief Minister of West Bengal -Mamata Banerjee, it focuses on reaching out to all the women who might not even be TMC supporters to bring about a social movement in support of women. Another interesting programme launched by TMC is the ‘Duare Sarkar’ briefly translated to ‘Government at doorstep’. This program aims to highlight the development activities and programs introduced by the ruling party.

State Education minister Partha Chatterjee, who was present at the launch of ‘TMC Report Card-Ten Years of Development, said that the schemes floated by the Mamata Banerjee government in the last decade have benefited a huge section of people. He also said that party leaders would reach out to people in all 294 assembly constituencies of the state with the report card. Among others, state minister Firhad Hakim and MPs Derek O’Brien and Sudip Bandyopadhyay were also present at the TMC Bhavan during the event.

On the other hand, JP Nadda, the national president of the party trying to make inroads into Bengal polity, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is currently on a two-day visit to West Bengal where he aims at holding two rallies at the Diamond Harbour with the BJP leaders and members of the fishermen community. Nadda had earlier held an outreach program in Bhowanipore, South Kolkata on Wednesday, December 9. From the looks of it, BJP is hoping to turn the table in their favour during the 2021 assembly polls after gaining an impressive performance in the 2019 elections. Nadda’s rally faced the ire of the people, buoyed by TMC when it was pelted with stones with many of its cars damaged.

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TMC insists that Rajib is still with party after he criticizes the party leadership

A day after state minister Rajib Banerjee lashed out on the party management in TMC, claiming that leaders with talents had been being sidelined, with the party leaders dismissing reviews of rifts, the party insists that he is still in TMC. Cabinet Minister of Urban development, Firhad Hakim stated, “There is no controversy with Rajib. He is very much in our party and will stay with us.”

The new problem in TMC fold, Rajib Banerjee, the state forest minister, mentioned, “Whenever I tried to prove my competence and skill, I was relegated to the backseat. I do not know what happened. Corrupt leaders, liars, and those who do not enjoy the confidence of people are being brought to the forefront just because they are sycophants.” The recent rebel, former state transport minister, Suvendu Adhikari was the last TMC leader who had broken away from TMC.

Few days back, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had specifically said that those in contact with the Opposition and other parties like BJP were free to go away from the party. “Mamata Banerjee has sent a loud and clear message to all rebels within the party. If they need to stay within the party they will have to work for the party. Those speaking against the party will not be tolerated. She, however, did not name any leader,” said a senior TMC leader who attended the virtual meeting held by Banerjee with TMC leaders from across the state.

Rajib Banerjee had recently lashed out, “It hurts me when I see that those who have the competence and dexterity and are working on ground standing amidst people are not given any importance. Instead, those sitting in AC chambers and thinking that they would be able to fool the people are occupying the front seats.”

This is, however, not the first time that Rajib Banerjee has spoken out against corruption. Earlier this year, he had said the party’s drive against in-house corruption should be aimed at not only ‘’small fries’’ but also against ‘’big fish’’. A senior minister, however, hit out at Banerjee, accusing him of echoing BJP’s stance. Rajib had at one point of time in his criticism compared the TMC with a paradise of fools.

Even as the TMC is desperately trying to fix the chinks in its armour, more gaps are appearing with one after another leader speaking out against the party.

Dilip Ghosh, president of the BJP’s Bengal unit said, “Those who have minimum self-respect left within them, will not be able to work in the TMC. It is because in the TMC party, only those who hail from a particular house in Kalighat are allowed to become leaders. The rest who gave their sweat and blood will always remain as employees.”

Earlier while Mihir Goswami, a TMC MLA had switched over to the BJP, Silbhadra Dutta another TMC MLA from Barrackpore lashed out against poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s team without naming it. Kishor was roped in by the TMC leadership after the BJP made some impressive gains in the 2019 elections.

BJP leaders have already named at least seven MPs and MLAs, claiming that it is just a matter of time before the lawmakers from the ruling TMC in West Bengal resign from the party and join the BJP.

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TMC getting the support of GJM’s Bimal Gurung is ‘suicidal politics’, claims Adhir Chowdhury

Adhir Chowdhury

Bimal Gurung’s support to TMC has not gone down well with Congress apart from BJP, which is being looked on as the prime challenge by TMC. Senior Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury on Sunday alleged that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has chosen “suicidal politics” by securing the support of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leader Bimal Gurung, and wondered if she would have a poll understanding with fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim or terrorist outfit Al Qaida to garner votes.

Chowdhury, the Congress’ West Bengal president, expressed dismay over Gurung allegedly getting police escort during his road journey from near Malda to Siliguri for attending a rally there on Sunday, and said that Banerjee is “jettisoning the interest” of the country for getting votes. Gurung, who was going to Siliguri by train left it and went there by road as an Adivasi organization had put up a rail blockade to press for their demands.

It is worth noting that the West Bengal government had slapped around 100 cases including those under the UAPA against Gurung for alleged acts of arson and attacks on policemen in Darjeeling hills during the GJM”s movement for a separate Gorkhaland state in the past few years.

Chowdhury said that the TMC could have waited till Gurung is freed of the charges and asked, “Will you (Banerjee) have an electoral understanding with Dawood Ibrahim or Al Qaida for winning polls?”  The senior Congress leader, who had earlier hit out at the Mamata Banerjee-led party for allegedly forging an alliance with “secessionist forces”, asked her not to go for suicidal politics just to secure a win in three seats in the (Darjeeling) hills and 15 seats in Dooars as suggested by the strategist PK (Prasant Kishor).

Kishor was hired by the TMC for looking after the party’s campaign strategy for 2021 assembly election. Chowdhury asked, “Have you (Banerjee) forgotten the death of police officer Amitava Malik? Your police had held Gurung responsible for the young officer’s death. Have you forgotten that it was your administration which had slapped so many cases against Gurung?”

Malik, a sub-inspector, was killed when a group of alleged GJM activists fired at a police team in a forest near Darjeeling in October 2017. The police were on the trail of Gurung who was suspected to be hiding there. By aligning with Gurung, the chief minister is giving a wrong signal to the family of the deceased and the people of the state, Chowdhury told reporters.

Gurung, who had been in hiding for three years, resurfaced in Kolkata on October 21 and pledged support to the TMC, after having quit the NDA, claiming that the BJP has “failed to find a permanent solution” for the Hills which had witnessed major unrest over demand for a separate state.

Darjeeling hills had repeatedly witnessed violent agitation over the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland. In 2017, the hills saw a 104-day-long strike called by Gurung over the issue. The strike also led to a split in the GJM, with Binoy Tamang, once a deputy to the outfit’s supremo Gurung, taking over the reins of the party and expelling the boss. Although the GJM faction led by Gurung had continued to align with the BJP, the other camp, headed by Tamang, had then joined hands with the ruling TMC in the state.

Chowdhury alleged that the TMC was trying to frame him in graft cases but dared to substantiate the charges. He further claimed, “I am here in politics with a mission, with a principle not for personal gains. Everyone knows that several TMC leaders had been arrested by the CBI in chit fund scam cases. But none will be able to point finger at the Congress, at Adhir Chowdhury.”

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TMC launches its biggest outreach drive today prior to the upcoming Bengal assembly polls

WB govt

The Trinamool Congress-led government in West Bengal launched one of its biggest outreach drives to connect with people over the next two months, starting Tuesday with a focus on the assembly polls coming year.

A senior official of the state government said, “The Duare Sarkar scheme will highlight around a dozen government programmes and address grievances of those left out.”

Across all 344 blocks in the state at least four camps would be set up in every village and civic body between December 1 and January 28. At these camps, officials would help people with various government facilities, like MGNREGA job cards, health cards, caste certificates, and ration cards.

The Mamata Banerjee-administration has already directed the district administrations to stress on the Bangla Sahayata Kendra, a chain of centres at the grass root level for free information about various government schemes.

Another senior official stated, “The state government has deployed more than 6,800 people across 3,400 such centres to provide information to the people about government projects and facilities and help them access those.”

People can get information of around 240 public services from around 38 departments from these centres, free of cost.

The BJP has criticized the state government over the Duare Sarkar scheme, asking it to clarify if it is a government programme or an outreach programme of the TMC ahead of the elections. The ruling party of the state-TMC is likely to face a stiff challenge from the BJP which had won 40% of the vote share in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and bagged 18 out of the 42 seats in the state.

“This is a revolutionary step taken by our government to ensure that no one is left out. All those who are eligible for the schemes will get the benefits. For example, Swastha Sathi (health scheme) will cover the entire population of the state,” Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim said while inaugurating a ward office. The 11 schemes will be made available to the beneficiaries through camps set up for the purpose, he said. The camps will be functional from 10 am to 4 pm every day, an official said.

The various schemes promoted in the outreach include the globally acclaimed ”Kanyashree”, a cash transfer programme aimed at retaining girls in schools and preventing their early marriage, ”Khadya Sathi” which aims at ensuring food security for 90 percent of the population and ”Sikhashree”, a one-time grant to SC and ST students studying in classes 5-8 to reduce their dropout rates.

Other schemes include ”Rupashree”, a one-time grant of ₹ 25,000 to poor families during their daughters’ marriage, ”Jai Johar” for the betterment of STs, ”Taposili Bandhu” pension scheme for SCs and ”Aikyashree” scholarship programme for students from minority communities.

BJP leader in the state, Dilip Ghosh stated that TMC is carrying out election campaign and outreach using public money to which a TMC leader retorted that the BJP at the centre needs to answer on its squandering of public money.

The author is a student member of Amity centre of happiness

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After resigning from cabinet, Suvendu Adhikari asks his supporters to be ready to hit the streets

Suvendu Adhikari

It was learnt that a day after he resigned from the ministership in the cabinet in Bengal government, TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari has asked the MLAs and leaders supporting him to be ready to hit the streets. Meanwhile, the TMC leadership has made it known that the doors are still open for Adhikary to come back in dialogue.

Suvendu Adhikary, apart from quitting the cabinet, had also recently resigned from the HRBC and the Haldia Development Authority.

A close confidante of Adhikary revealed that the followers and the MLAs supporting him form a huge supporter base which can help him to build a separate organization. The supporters of Adhikary are ready in more than five districts, said his close associate. The support base of Suvendu Adhikary had for the last few months promoted the idea of a separate organization under the banner of  “Amra Dadar Anugami”, meaning-We are followers of the elder brother. Adding to the discomfort of TMC, this separate supporter-base of Adhikary had made the rift in the TMC visible in various regions like East and West Medinipur, Howrah, Hooghly, Birbhum, Kolkata, Siliguri, and Jhargram.

The TMC leadership has placed MP Saugata Roy to communicate and bring back Adhikary into proper TMC-fold. It has been guessed by some observers that Adhikary might be pulled into BJP, with regular hints and indications coming from Bengal unit leaders of the saffron party.

The TMC had recently called up Adhikary’s father Sisir in order to influence him to get back.