Major jolt to TMC, BJP Chief Suvendu Adhikari’s brother joins BJP with 14 TMC councillors

Major jolt to Mamata Banerjee led the TMC in West Bengal as BJP chief Suvendu Adhikari’s brother Soumendu Adhikari officially joined BJP on Friday. He was joined by 14 other TMC councillors from the 20-member Contai Municipality. Soumendu Adhikari was chairman of the Municipality, but was suspended from office after Suvendu Adhikari joined Bhartiya Janata Party.

#Breaking | Suvendu Adhikari’s younger brother, Soumendu. also joins BJP.

Details by Tamal Saha. pic.twitter.com/3DcDa1adj0

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) January 1, 2021

TMC MP and Mamat Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee had taunted Suvendu for failing to move his father and brothers from TMC to BJP.

Affected by the departure of Suvendu Adhikari, Mamata Banerjee, who headed the government in West Bengal, had recently removed his brother Soumendu Adhikari from the position of President of the Municipality of Contai and replaced him with Siddhartha Maity.

The induction of Suvendu and Soumendu Adhikari in BJP is certainly a cause of concern for Mamata Banerjee, who led the government in West Bengal, especially before the 2021 Assembly elections, provided that the Adhikari family has a considerable impact on the citizens of their respective bastions.

On Thursday, Soumendu Adhikari, brother of BJP chief Suvendhu Adhikari, filed a petition before the High Court of Calcutta challenging his dismissal from the office of Administrator of the Contai Municipality of Purba Medinipur. According to the sources, Soumendu Adhikari claimed in his petition that he had been unlawfully expelled from the Civic Affairs Department of the West Bengal Government

On 17 December, Suvendu Adhikari officially left the Trinamool Congress and joined the BJP in the presence of Home Secretary Amit Shah. Addressing his supporters, Suvendhu Adhikari wrote a letter to accuse Mamat Banerjee for sidelining the party leaders and said that Mamata had betrayed the party’s values.

Suvendu Adhikari’s father and Kanthi MP Sisir Kumar Adhikari, his brother and Tamluk MP Dibyendu Adhikari are now TMC representatives. It is not clear if they are going to switch to BJP as well. Last month, Mamata Banerjee asked Sisir Adhikari to get rid of party leaders who are reportedly involved in anti-party activities. Banerjee asked Sisir Adhikari to collaborate with Subrata Bakshi, President of TMC.