BJP Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh, who switched camp from Trinamool Congress (TMC) ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, has made claims that five TMC MPs will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) soon. This comes at a time when the BJP is strategising ways to capture Mamata Banerjee’s bastion in the 2021 Assembly elections.
“Five MPs can submit their resignation anytime. Sougata Roy keeps saying Mamata Mamata in front of the camera, but beyond the camera, Sougata Roy is also on the list (apart from Suvendu Adhikari),” said Arjun Singh.
After the districts and in Hazra area near Mamata’s house, posters of Adhikari were put up by his supporters at Shyambazar and Entally areas in the city. This has irked TMC as Suvendu has a huge following and is a mass leader amidst speculations that Adhikari will join BJP. Losing Adhikari to the opposition will be a big blow to the TMC, if the leader does switch camps.
Meanwhile, TMC is playing the good cop, bad cop.
While one faction is bad-mouthing Adhikari, another faction is trying to lure him back to stick with the party. According to sources, the mass leader might be going to BJP very soon.
Speculations began when recently Ahidkari claimed it was his family that stirred the Nandigram movement in 2007 and did not mention Mamata’s name during his speech even once. Adhikari was speaking at a programme where martyrs of the Nandigram movement were remembered.
TMC is already perturbed with BJP making significant inroads in the state and Bengal is a huge target for the saffron party.
Adhikari’s presence in TMC is a big factor and if he switches camp to BJP, it will be a big catch for the saffron party. Adhikari is not mentioning Mamata anymore in his other speeches and states that his an "elected leader" and not a "selected leader".
“No mass leader can bear the way Mamata is paving the way for her nephew (Abhishek Banerjee). The way Suvendu Adhikari is being insulted, a mass leader like Suvendu Adhikari should not stay on for even a minute. That is what I think. He is being targeted just like I am. A mass leader cannot be stopped,” said Arjun, Singh who added that when Adhikari joins the saffron party, the TMC government will cease to exist.
Certain speeches of Adhikari are leaving hints and ensuing speculations about whether he is still a Mamata loyalist. The real question is — will he join the BJP or float his own separate party if he quits the TMC?
