'Suvendu Adhikari wanted to be CM after Mamata' reveals Saugata Roy after MLA resigns

Opening up on the breakdown of talks with ex-MLA Suvendu Adhikari, Trinamool MP Saugata Roy said on Wednesday, that Adhikari wanted to the CM after TMC chief Mamata Banerjee. Speaking to ANI, Roy said that Trinamool stopped talking to Adhikari on December 2, after he informed that 'they could not work together'. Roy was part of the delegation along with poll strategist Prashant Kishor which tried to appease Adhikari, but it failed as Adhikari quit from Bengal assembly, earlier in the day.

After announcing his resignation, Suvendu holds meeting with disgruntled TMC leaders

Saugata Roy: 'Suvendu wants to be CM'

"We spoke to him (Suvendu Adhikari) on Dec 1, but on Dec 2, he informed us that we can't work together.  That day we decided to not speak to him anymore. We couldn't fulfill his ambition as he wants to be the leader after Mamata Banerjee. Suvendu Adhikari wanted control of 5-6 districts which wasn't possible. He never told but he wanted to be the CM or Deputy CM.  I have information that Suvendu will join BJP. It seems during testing days, weak & greedy people leave the party," said Roy.

Mamata Banerjee reacts to Suvendu Adhikari's exit: 'TMC as deep-rooted as Banyan tree' 

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Suvendu to join BJP?

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'. Adhikari has also written to  WB Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, seeking his intervention so that the police and administration apparatus is dissuaded from implicating him and his followers in criminal cases. 

After his resignation, sources said that Adhikari is set to join the saffron party on Saturday, in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah. Adhikari is set to join BJP in the presence of ex-BJP chief Amit Shah at Medinipur town in West Midnapore district, which is Shah's first stop in his second Bengal visit in two months. Hours after he resigned as MLA, Adhikari closed-door meeting with disgruntled leaders of the party including senior MP Sunil Mandal and Asansol civic body chief Jitendra Tiwari according to PTI.

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What happened between Suvendu Adhikari & Trinamool?

Adhikari - the mastermind of 2007 Nandigram agitation - holds influence in about 35 assembly constituencies in West Midnapore, Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and Birbhum districts. He had been creating rumours for the past few months by holding rallies not under Trinamool flag or its supremo - Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's posters, and had skipped cabinet meetings. While Suvendu himself is very influential, his father Sisir Adhikari and younger brother Dibyendu Adhikari are TMC MPs from Tamluk and Kanthi Lok Sabha constituencies respectively. After the breakdown of talks, Adhikari resigned from the cabinet post of Transport minister after quitting as Hooghly River Bridge Commission chairman, saying it was 'difficult to work in TMC'. West Bengal goes to polls in April-May 2021, where Mamata Banerjee eyes a third consecutive term.