Fissures in the Trinamool Congress (TMC) widened on Friday as the party suffered a spree of resignations. The chain that started with the resignation of TMC heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday got elongated with two more MLAs -- Shilbhadra Dutta and Banasri Maity -- resigning from Mamata Banerjee's party, months ahead of the state assembly elections.
The fact that these resignations have come a day before Union home minister Amit Shah's two-day Bengal visit, have triggered speculation that all or some of these rebel TMC leaders may join the BJP in his presence on Saturday.
Here are the top 10 developments from Bengal's politics:
1) Following the footsteps of former West Bengal minister and TMC heavyweight Suvendhu Adhikari, TMC MLA from Barrackpore Shilbhadra Dutta too resigned from the party. Dutta is a two-term MLA and said he has sent his resignation letter to TMC chief Mamata Banerjee by email.
"I think that I am unfit in the party in the present scenario. But, I will not resign as an MLA," he told reporters. "Why should I resign as an MLA? I have won by people's votes. If I go (resign) away, where will they go?" he added.
Of late, Dutta had been vocal about his opposition to election strategist Prashant Kishor and the way he was handling party affairs. Just like Adhikari and Tiwari, there are speculations that Dutta too may join the BJP or is at least willing to.
2) The other resignation jolt to the TMC on Friday came from Uttar Kanthi MLA Banasri Maity, who tendered her resignation from the party's primary membership and from all posts that she held in the party.
Maity comes from a region that is considered to be a stronghold of Suvendhu Adhikari in East Midnapore district.
3) Meanwhile, in a turnaround, TMC MLA Jitendra Tiwari, who earlier said he has quit the party, made a U-turn saying he is still in the Trinamool Congress and will continue to be in the party. This U-turn came following his meeting with state minister Arup Biswas. Political strategist Prashant Kishor was also present at the meeting. It is learnt that Tewari apologised to Mamata Banerjee during his meeting with Arup Biswas.
Ever since he stepped down as Asansol's civic body chief, the BJP has been non-committal about him. Union minister and Asansol MP Babul Supriyo expressed his reservations publicly.
4) On Thursday, Jitendra stepped down as chief of Asansol's civic body. Following his resignation, Jitendra Tiwari heaped praises on Suvendhu Adhikari and hailed him as the second-most important leader in the Trinamool Congress after Mamata Banerjee.
"There is no point in continuing in the TMC as I am not being allowed to work for the people," Tiwari was earlier quoated as saying by PTI. Tiwari said he decided to leave the party after his MLA office was attacked at the "behest of a senior TMC leader" after he stepped down as chief of Asansol's civic body.
5) This resignation spree in the Trinamool Congress is important because it comes a day before Amit Shah's two-day visit to poll-bound West Bengal. During the visit that starts on Saturday, Amit Shah will hold a series of meeting, have lunch with a farmer's family and address a rally in Midnapore.
6) Speculation are rife that former heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari, who besides quitting the party also gave up cabinet portfolios in the Mamata Banerjee government, may join BJP during Amit Shah's visit. It is being speculated that some other disgruntled TMC leaders, including MLAs like Silbhadra Dutta, may as well join the BJP.
7) On Friday, West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said Dutta and former minister Suvendu Adhikari are welcome to join the BJP along with other TMC leaders who have quit the party. Meanwhile, BJP's Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh urged Dutta to join his party and claimed, "Silbhadra-da was not being allowed to work in the Trinamool Congress."
8) On the first day of his visit on Saturday, Amit Shah will attend a meeting with NIA officials. He will then will visit Swami Vivekanada's residence in north Kolkata. Later, he will travel to Midnapore. On Sunday, Shah will visit the Visva- Bharati university in Shantiniketan and lead a roadshow in Bolpur, which will be followed by a press conference.
9) In another important development related to the resignations, West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee rejected the resignation tendered by TMC MLA Suvendu Adhikari.
The Speaker said the resignation does not conform to the provisions of the Constitution and the rules of the House. He said Adhikari did not hand over the resignation letter to him personally, and maintained that he wasn't aware if his move was "voluntary and genuine".
The Speaker has asked Suvendu Adhikari to appear before him personally in his chamber on December 21 to make a submission in the matter.
10) Meanwhile, the BJP got some relief from the Supreme Court on Friday as it restrained the West Bengal Police from taking any coercive action against BJP leaders in criminal cases. The Supreme Court has granted interim protection from any coercive action to five BJP leaders, including Mukul Roy and MPs Kailash Vijayvargiya and Arjun Singh, in criminal cases lodged against them in West Bengal.
"There should not be any coercive steps in cases registered against the petitioners till next date," the court said. The matter will be next heard in January.
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