West Bengal: Sisir Adhikari sacked as Digha board chairman weeks after son Suvendu’s TMC exit

Weeks after Suvendu Adhikari left Trinamool Congress to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), his father and TMC MP Sisir Adhikari was removed from the post of Chairman of Digha Sankrpur Development Authority Board (DSDA). Sisir will be replaced by Akhil Giri. Sisir has represented Kanthi parliamentary seat since 2009. He has also served as Union Minister of State for Rural Development in the Congress-led UPA government.

The Adhikari family is very influential in the Midnapore region. The removal of Sisir Adhikari from DSDA Board confirms that the rift is widening between Mamata Banerjee and the Adhikari family. Suvendu’s two brothers are also in politics, Dibyendu Adhikari is an TMC MP from Tamluk and Soumendu was the chairman of the board of administrators of the Kanthi Municipality until he was removed from the post on December 30.

After being removed from the chairman post, Suvendu Adhikari said that his brother along with a few TMC councillors and over 5000 workers will join the BJP. Suvendu, the face of Nandigram movement that paved the way for Mamata to become chief minister, resigned from the TMC saying the party had become a private company which has been taken over by Abhishek Banerjee and Prashant Kishor.

Suvendu said that Mamata Banerjee will lose the upcoming assembly election and lotus will bloom in West Bengal. Suvendu was once the second most powerful person in the TMC but over the years he was sidelined as Mamata’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee began to take control of the party affairs. Mamata Banerjee has also engaged poll strategist Parshant Kishor to oversee the election preparedness.