Birbhum MP Satabdi Roy maintains suspense on future in TMC; to visit Delhi tomorrow

TMC MP Satabdi Roy reiterated her disenchantment with her party on Friday and announced that she is going to Delhi on January 16. In a Facebook post a day earlier, Roy stated that she will announce a decision about her future in TMC at 2 pm on Saturday. Maintaining that she had given her best for their welfare in the last decade, the actor-turned-politician explained to her constituents that she had been sidelined within the party. 

However, Roy clarified that her Delhi visit does not necessarily imply that she is switching allegiance to BJP. The Birbhum MP has complained about not being informed about the party functions in advance. In her first election in 2009, she won the Birbhum seat by defeating CPI(M)'s longstanding MP Ram Chandra Dome. Subsequently, she was elected to the same constituency in the 2014 and 2019 General Election. 

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Discontent within TMC grows

After BJP won 18 out of 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the 2019 General Election, the exodus of TMC leaders to the JP Nadda-led party has increased manifold. For instance, ex-MLAs Suvendu Adhikari, Silbhadra Dutta, Tapasi Mondal, Ashoke Dinda, Sudip Mukherjee, Saikat Panja, Dipali Biswas, Sukra Munda, Shyamapda Mukherjee, Biswajit Kundu and Banasri Maity and TMC MP Sunil Mondal joined BJP in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a rally in Midnapore on December 19, 2020. Adhikari, who served as the West Bengal Minister for Transport, Irrigation, and Water Resources, resigned from the Cabinet and the Assembly on November 27 and December 16 respectively.

His induction is perceived as a blow to TMC as the Adhikari family is believed to have an influence in at least 50 Assembly constituencies. On January 5, West Bengal Minister of State for Youth Services and Sports Laxmi Ratan Shukla resigned from his post. Addressing a press conference two days later, Shukla refused to endorse the re-election of the TMC government in 2021. The all-rounder reckoned that Mamata Banerjee's chances of returning as CM depends on her track record in office. Similarly, Meanwhile, TMC MLA Baishali Dalmiya expressed disapproval of some elements within TMC and contended that there was no point being in power if the ruling party cannot work for the people of the state.

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