Asansol MLA Jitendra Tiwari does a U-turn; withdraws resignation, returns to Mamata's camp

In another twist in the Bengal battle, Ex-Asansol civic body chief Jitendra Tiwari on Friday, has withdrawn his resignation from the party and his post, apologising for his statements 'disavowing Trinamool'. Adding that he is very much with Trinamool, Tiwari took a U-turn from his statement a day ago saying, 'Now it is not possible for me to stay with them. I have resigned from the post of district chief of the party'. Following Tiwari, seven other TMC leaders have quit triggered by the exit of TMC heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari.

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On Wednesday, Suvendu Adhikari tendered his resignation for the Bengal Assembly, which has been rejected by  Speaker Biman Banerjee stating that 'date was not mentioned' in the letter. Following his resignation, Adhikari held a closed-door meeting with disgruntled leaders of the party including senior MP Sunil Mandal, Jitendra Tiwari, Nityananda Chattopadhyay. Soon after, Asansol civic body chief - Tiwari, who had recently slammed the state government for depriving the industrial town of Asansol of central funds for political reasons, quit the party along with Abhijit Acharya (Vice-President of Paschim Bardhaman) and Col Diptangshu Choudhury (South Bengal State Transport Corporation). Tiwari's allegations were rebutted by Trinamool.

This led to a barrage of exits like Rabi-Ul-Islam (Legal advisor of Asansol Municipal Corporation), Aparesh Santra (Vice President of Patashpur-2 Block), Silbhadra Datta (TMC MLA from Barrackpore), Kabir-Ul-Islam (TMC minority cell general secretary) and  Banashri Maity (Uttar Kanthi MLA).  Adhikari will purportedly join BJP in the presence of Amit Shah on Saturday - at a meeting in Medinipur. These resignations come ahead of West Bengal polls in April-May 2021, where Mamata Banerjee eyes a third consecutive term.

Reacting to Suvendu's exit, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said that 'people who won't get a ticket are going away'. Addressing a public rally, Banerjee lashed out at the saffron party saying that they were 'attacking the TMC', but added, 'TMC is as deep-rooted as a Banyan tree'. Banerjee had deputed Prashant Kishor and several top TMC leaders to placate Adhikari, but it was not fruitful as the Nandigram MLA reportedly eyed the CM post. The TMC chief has directed Prashant Kishor to reach out to rebels again, saying, 'I will fight the polls alone otherwise', as per sources. Adhikari - the mastermind of 2007 Nandigram agitation - who holds influence in about 35 assembly constituencies in West Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and Birbhum districts, has been miffed with the growing influence of poll strategist Prashant Kishor and Mamata's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, resulting in his sidelining.

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