BJP opens doors for Suvendu Adhikari after his resignation as West Bengal Cabinet Minister

Hours after Trinamool Congress (TMC) heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari resigned from the post of West Bengal Transport Minister, state BJP President Dilip Ghosh on Friday said that the party's doors will be open for him if he wishes to join BJP. Adhikari's resignation marks the end of TMC and the party will cease to exist, Ghosh further stated.

While addressing media, Ghosh said, "The exit of Suvendu Adhikari from TMC is only a matter of time. There are several leaders of the ruling party who are disgruntled with its way of functioning. We have kept our doors open."

The West Bengal Cabinet minister was said to be at loggerheads with the party's top leadership and his resignation on Friday is said to be a big setback to the ruling party. A day before, he also resigned as chairman of state-run Hoogly River Bridge Commissioners giving a big jolt to the TMC's backchannel talks to retain him ahead of the 2021 state polls. West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar took to Twitter to post the resignation letter sent by Adhikari via email, while the same was sent to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee via fax.

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West Bengal elections 2021

The Legislative Assembly election for 294 seats in the State is likely to be held in May 2021. Home Minister Amit Shah who was on a visit to the State earlier this month, had exuded confidence of winning over 200 seats in the upcoming polls, a highly ambitious figure after the party won 18 seats of the 42 seats of West Bengal in 2019 Lok Sabha election. The saffron party has emerged as the main challenger for the TMC. BJP has slammed the ruling party for the political violence it has faced in the state with over 120 of its leaders and members been killed in political violence for which it holds TMC responsible. Moreover, BJP is riding high on the critical nail-biting victory of Bihar assembly election as well as the by-poll victory, the polls of which were held on 58 seats in 11 states across the country. The saffron party has also kicked off booth level activities in the run-up to the 2021 polls. Meanwhile, TMC, on the other hand, is aiming to return to power for the fourth time and has kicked off its campaign by launching the digital campaigns 'Mark Yourself safe from BJP' &  'Didi Ke Bolo'.

(With PTI inputs)

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