Even After Meeting, Adhikari’s Troubles With TMC Far From Over

In a shocking twist, TMC rebel Suvendu Adhikari said that it was impossible for him to work for the ruling party.

Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

(Photo: IANS)

In a shocking twist on Wednesday, Trinamool Congress (TMC) rebel Suvendu Adhikari said that it was impossible for him to work for the ruling party, and his problems with TMC were far from over even as members of the party had met the disgruntled party heavyweight on Tuesday and claimed they had resolved inter-party issues.

NDTV also reported that Adhikari was upset about the fact that the details of his meeting with the Trinamool leaders were made public.

“An earlier decision was reinforced that he will stay in TMC, without any question of joining BJP. Suvendu will clarify whatever he wants to, via a press conference. We still have 218 MLAs and only one has quit the party,” TMC leader Saugata Roy had said, according to ANI.

On Tuesday, the TMC top leaders held a high-level meeting with in a bid to resolve differences within the party.

The meeting was held amongst Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee, Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, veteran MP Sougata Roy and strategist Prashant Kishor in north Kolkata, reported IANS.

“The meeting was extremely well. Suvendu said he is very much in the party. He is not going anywhere,” IANS had quoted Roy as saying.

Roy had stated that the outcome of the meeting was good, and the details of it were conveyed to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee immediately after the meeting got over.

Roy also said, “ I had been constantly saying all along that he would not leave the party. He is with us.”

“You cannot say that a chapter has ended at any point of time in politics, but I am hopeful tomorrow Suvendu will hold a press conference and clarify his stand,” The Indian Express quoted Roy as saying.

Fallout With TMC

On 26 November, senior minister Suvendu Adhikari resigned from his position as Chairman of the Hooghly River Bridge Commission (HRBC), a statutory body under the Transport Department.

Adhikari has been having a fallout with his party, the TMC, for months now and had recently started holding "independent" rallies for himself in an act of open rebellion against the party.

“I’m the primary member of a party. I’m a minister in the cabinet. The chief minister has made me a minister. She has not fired me and I have not left on my own,” Adhikari said at a recent rally.

According to IANS sources, Adhikari was unhappy with organisational decisions taken by Abhishek Banerjee and Prashant Kishor. Speculations were rife if Suvendu would join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the crucial state Assembly polls scheduled in 2021.

The state BJP leaders had said that they would welcome Adhikari if he wants to join the BJP in Bengal.

Son of a Congressman, Shishir Adhikari, who has been with Banerjee since she started the Trinamool, Suvendu Adhikari started as a municipal councillor before being elected MLA from Dakshin Kanthi in East Midnapore in 2006.

In 2007, he was instrumental in the Nandigram anti-land acquisition protests, which ultimately was one of the key reasons for the downfall of the Left government in 2011.

(With inputs from ANI and IANS)