TMC MPs Sisir Adhikari, son Dibyendu cast vote in VP elections; party seeks explanation

Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MPs Sisir Adhikari and his son Dibyendu Adhikari went against their party line on Saturday to cast their votes for the Vice Presidential elections, even as the TMC declared it would abstain from the polls.

TMC leader in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandopadhyay had officially communicated the party's stand in a letter dated August 4 to all party MPs, asking them to refrain from voting in the August 6 polls. Despite this, Sisir and Dibyendu were seen entering Room No. 63 of the Parliament to cast their votes for electing Vice President Venkaiah Naidu's successor. 

Later in the day, Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay wrote to the fellow parliamentarians asking them to explain why they defied the party.

“Please refer to my letter dated 4 August 2022, wherein you were informed that our parliamentary party members both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha would abstain from voting in the Vice-Presidential election on Saturday, 6 August 2022. “We have noted that you cast your vote in the Vice-Presidential Elections held today," Bandyopadhyay said.

The Mamata Banerjee-led party had decided to abstain from the poll, alleging that joint Opposition candidate Margaret Alva, who eventually lost, was chosen without due consultation.

As no party can apply a whip in the Vice Presidential poll, the Trinamool Congress won’t be able to act in the Lok Sabha against Sisir Adhikari for flouting party instructions.

Adhikari family's fallout with Didi

Sisir Adhikari and Dibyendu Adhikari are officially TMC MPs but they have had tumultuous relations with the party ever since Suvendu Adhikari, Sisir's elder son, switched over to the BJP before the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections. Suvendu, who defeated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the nail-biting contest for the Nandigram seat, later became the Leader of Opposition.

While Sisir and Dibyendu have not joined the BJP yet, they have been close to the saffron camp since Suvendu's elevation. During the presidential election, Sisir Adhikari came to Delhi to cast his vote.

In Saturday's elections, National Democratic Alliance’s Vice Presidential nominee Jagdeep Dhankhar was elected as the 14th Vice President of India as he defeated Margaret Alva by a thumping 346 votes.

Dhankhar, a former governor of West Bengal, secured 528 votes against Alva’s 182, the highest victory margin since 1997. Sisir Adhikari’s relationship with the Trinamool Congress has become a tenuous one with Bandyopadhyay demanding his dismissal citing his “defection" to BJP.

(With inputs from agency)