'Technically I am in TMC but...': Suvendu's brother claims invite from BJP high command

A day after Suvendu Adhikari's father expressed willingness to join BJP, his brother Dibyendu too revealed his disgruntlement with TMC. While Sisir Adhikari has represented the Kanthi constituency since 2009 besides serving as the Union Minister of State for Rural Development in the Congress-led UPA government, Dibyendu is currently a TMC MP from Tamluk. While divulging that he has received an invitation to join the party from the BJP high command, the Tamluk MP said that he is yet to make a decision. 

Claiming that he has not been allowed to attend party programmes for the last 4-5 months, Dibyendu Adhikari lashed out at the TMC district president for misleading the people. Moreover, he stressed that he was technically still a part of TMC. Weighing in on West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's decision to contest the Assembly polls from Nandigram, he termed it as an "emotional decision". In a dig at TMC, he reckoned that everyone in Nandigram had faith in his brother Suvendu. It is pertinent to note that their other brother Soumendu had joined BJP on January 1 after being removed as the Contai Municipality administrator.

Suvendu Adhikari's inclusion in BJP

Suvendu Adhikari, who had resigned from the West Bengal Cabinet on November 27, 2020, also resigned from the primary membership of the Mamata Banerjee-led party. Though the ex-Nandigram MLA had submitted a letter resigning as the MLA on December 16, 2020, it was not accepted as no date was specified. On December 21, West Bengal Speaker Biman Banerjee accepted his resignation after the latter personally deposed before him.

Apart from Adhikari, former MLAs Silbhadra Dutta, Tapasi Mondal, Ashoke Dinda, Sudip Mukherjee, Saikat Panja, Dipali Biswas, Sukra Munda, Shyamapda Mukherjee, Biswajit Kundu and Banasri Maity and TMC MP Sunil Mondal joined BJP in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a rally in Midnapore on December 19. BJP is looking to make major inroads in the WB Assembly election buoyed by its win in 18 out of 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the 2019 General Election. Both Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda have predicted that the party will win more than 200 seats in the WB polls

In West Bengal, 294 seats are up for grabs and people will be able to cast their votes at 1,01,916 polling stations. As per the phases, the polling in the state will be conducted on March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29. The counting of votes shall take place on May 2. In Nandigram, Suvendu Adhikari is pitted against Mamata Banerjee who decided not to contest from her bastion Bhawanipore.