Subhendu Adhikary expected to join BJP on Dec 19 in presence of Amit Shah; who else will switch camp?

Subhendu Adhikary, former minister in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet, is expected to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on December 19 at a public meeting in West Midnapore in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

If that has been the most discussed political issue in Bengal these days, what people are currently also speculating is who else from the Trinamool Congress may likely join the BJP along with Adhikary.

Shah was earlier expected to hold a meeting in Bongaon, but once that was cancelled, a meeting was scheduled in West Midnapore. Since then, there have been intense speculations on the reason for the shift of the venue. Adhikary, a leader popular in Midnapore, is expected to draw a large number of people especially as he moves from the Trinamool Congress to the BJP on Saturday. The day may thus mark a significant moment in the politics of West Bengal, ahead of the Assembly elections of 2021.

There is now further speculations on who else may join the BJP from the public meeting in presence of Shah. Will it include some top Trinamool leaders?

Over the past few months, several Trinamool leaders have been vocal critics of the party the way they never have been before. Some of those who have openly criticised policies and positions of the party includes Barrackpore MLA Silbhadra Dutta, Burdwan Purba MP Sunil Mondal, Asansol MLA Jitendra Tewari, Trinamool Congress minister Rajib Banerjee among others. Others include Durgapur West Trinamool MLA Biswanath Pariyal – who has even gone on to say in presence of Tewari that he would resign immediately if his party wants him to. Haripal MLA Becharam Manna, Uttarpara MLA Prabir Ghoshal have also made statements that raised questions about their allegiance to the Trinamool Congress. Shilbhadra Dutta has even gone on to state that he won’t contest the 2021 election on a Trinamool Congress ticket.

All this has led to intense discussions within the political circles that Subhendu Adhikary may not be the only one from the Trinamool Congress to join the BJP on December 19.