Who Are The Leaders Who Joined BJP with Suvendu Adhikari?

After weeks of speculation, Suvendu Adhikari joined the BJP, but who are the other leaders who followed suit?

Suvendu Adhikari and eight rebel leaders join BJP.

(Photo: BJP)

Weeks of speculation have finally been put to rest. Rebel TMC MLA Suvendu Adhikari joined the BJP in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah on 19 December at his rally in Midnapore.

Along with Adhikari, four other TMC MLAs, one TMC MP, one Congress MLA and two Left MLAs followed suit. 

Here are the leaders who joined the BJP along with Adhikari:

• Sunil Mondal, MP, Burdwan Purba
• Dasarath Tirkey, Ex-MP, Alipurduar
• Tapasi Mondal, Haldia
• Ashoke Dinda, Tamluk
• Sudip Mukherjee, Purulia
• Saikat Panja, Burdwan
• Shilbhadra Dutta, Barrackpore
• Dipali Biswas, Gazole
• Sukra Munda, Nagarkata
• Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Bishnupur
• Biswajit Kundu, Kalna
• Banasri Maity, Kanthi North
  

This comes as four MLAs and one MP quit the Trinamool Congress this week after Adhikari had tendered his resignation from the post of MLA and from the party. Speculations were rife about them joining the BJP over the weekend.

The leaders had publicly expressed their displeasure on the party’s functioning. They claimed they felt that the top brass has sidelined senior leaders, and that their grievances are not being heard.

Suvendu Adhikari

Suvendu Adhikari said he felt sidelined in the party, especially after Prashant Kishor came into the scene. Adhikari had been instrumental in the Nandigram anti-land acquisition protests (which ultimately led to the downfall of the Left government in 2011) and making significant inroads for the party in the Jangalmahal area, Malda and Murshidabad. He is said to have made his displeasure towards Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee and Kishor known. The party had initially tried to negotiate with him and bring him back, but the talks eventually failed.

Adhikari had been conducting independent rallies without the TMC banner since May before resigning from all his posts in November. He had also stopped attending all Cabinet meetings.

Despite a meeting with TMC stalwart Saugata Roy, Sudip Bandhopadhyay, Abhishek Banerjee and Prashant Kishor, Adhikari in a WhatsApp conversation with Roy said that his “issues were not resolved and conclusions were being drawn regardless” which will make it “difficult for us to work together”.

Sunil Mondal

Purba Burdwan MP Sunil Mondal too had quit the party this week after a meeting at his residence with Suvendu Adhikari and other rebel leaders. He too claimed he was not happy about how the party was functioning since Kishor’s advent and felt sidelined. He alleged that “the criminals in party are getting the recognition” which has led to TMC’s “number one warriors” to revolt.

What does he (Kishor) know about Bengal’s politics? If the organisation of the party is not strong, then it becomes hard for the party to sustain itself. The one who takes money to do politics doesn’t understand anything. Rented warriors cannot win you war. I’ll not accept their order. We are more educated and politically aware than him. The party cannot run like this.

Sunil Mondal, BJP Leader

Shilbhadra Dutta

TMC MLA from Barrackpore, Silbhadra Dutta said that the TMC leadership should have done more to redress his grievances. He expressed his desire to not fight the polls and said that talks with him failed.

It is not possible for me to take directions from a private agency (I-PAC) on how politics or organisational work should be done.

Silbhadra Dutta, BJP Leader

Biswajit Kundu

Kundu had a similar grievance like the other rebel leaders, against Kishor. He too said he felt that undeserving leaders were being given importance while veterans were being sidelined. He objected to taking orders from Kishor’s “young boys”.

Our party spent crores to bring in PK (Prashant Kishor). He chose organisational heads in my constituency who do not have a clean record and who are not liked by people. People like us were sidelined. But he seems to know better than us. So what does the party need me for?

Biswajit Kundu, BJP Leader