Trinamool Congress MP and senior leader of Purba Medinipur Sisir Adhikari is all set to join the BJP. At a public meeting in the district, the veteran TMC leader’s son and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari made it clear that his father joining the BJP is just a matter of time.
“You all know Sisir babu. He will be present at Narendra Modi rally at Kanthi on March 24. I am suggesting he should go before that to Amit Shah’s rally on March 21,” Mr. Suvendu Adhikari said at Chandipur.
Soon after Mr. Suvendu Adhikari quit the Trinamool Congress to join the BJP in December, speculation has been rife that his father and brother Dibyendu Adhikari will also join the BJP. Mr. Sisir Adhikari represents the Kanthi Lok Sabha seat and Mr. Dibyendu Adhikari the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat in the same district. Mr. Sisir Adhikari’s another son Soumendu Adhikari had joined the BJP after the West Bengal government removed him from the post of chairman of the Contai municipality.
“Who said I am with the TMC. Since December there has been no contact and then people are coming from Kolkata and abusing us,” Mr. Sisir Adikari said. He was referring to Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee’s remarks.
The TMC leadership said the announcement that Mr. Sisir Adhikari would attend the PM’s rally had come as no surprise to them. “We were prepared for this. After all blood is thicker than water. We had kept these developments in mind while selecting our candidates,” TMC MP Saugata Roy said.
The defections of the prominent Adhikari family of Purba Medinpur to the BJP has been the biggest political blow for the TMC. Mr. Suvendu Adhikari and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are locked in a prestigious fight for the Nandigram seat.