'Suvendu Adhikari not joining BJP': TMC MP Saugata Roy after parleys with miffed leader

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and former cabinet minister of West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari is not joining BJP, said TMC MP Saugata Roy. The TMC leader stated that he, along with Prashant Kishore, Sudip Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, had a fruitful discussion with Adhikari on Tuesday. This can be seen as a sense of relief for the ruling party as BJP had kept its doors open for Adhikari and was also said to be in touch with him. Moreover, MLA Mihir Goswami who quit West Bengal's ruling party joined the BJP on Friday.

"Suvendu Adhikari is not going to BJP. It was a foolish assumption. I'd a fruitful meeting with him today along with Prashant Kishore, Sudip Banerjee & Abhishek Banerjee & things are sorted out," Saugata Roy stated.

"He is with TMC and we will work together to make Mamata win again. The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and all problems have been sorted. Party is united. There was a need for a face-to-face meeting. So it was done," Roy added.

Suvendu Adhikari, who was reportedly unhappy with the party top brass over some issues, had been holding apolitical rallies for quite some time and had also not attended cabinet meetings chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the last few months.

Saugata Roy, a veteran lawmaker, was tasked by the TMC top brass to hold parleys with Adhikari over his grievances. Earlier as well Roy had discussed with Adhikari the issues that may be affecting him before the heavyweight TMC leader resigned from the chairmanship of Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC) on Thursday and his ministerial position in the Mamata Banerjee cabinet the next day.

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The BJP has stated that many of the TMC leaders are waiting for an opportunity to jump the ship and join BJP. After Adhikari's resignation from Cabinet, BJP West Bengal President said there are several leaders of the ruling party who are disgruntled with its way of functioning. TMC MLA Mihir Goswami joined the BJP on Friday, saying he looked forward to a "new political era" in the poll-bound state in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision. Adhikari's resignation was seen as a big blow for the TMC ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections which are likely to be held in May 2021.

Although the TMC may have succeeded in retaining Adhikari, the BJP is riding high on the success of the critical nail-biting victory in the Bihar assembly election as well as the by-polls, 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 West Bengal polls. 

Home Minister Amit Shah who was on a visit to the State in November, 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 the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The saffron party has emerged as the main challenger for the ruling TMC which 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' and  'Didi Ke Bolo'.

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