Trinamool minister Subhendu Adhikary attends programme on “individual capacity”; speculations on quitting party

Will West Bengal transport and irrigation minister Subhendu Adhikary quit his party, the Trinamool Congress? Will he join the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Assembly elections of 2021? Such rumours have been doing the rounds for several months now, but there are now fresh speculations after Adhikary attended a programme in Jangalmahal on Sunday on “individual” capacity, and indicated that he was representing neither the Trinamool Congress nor the state government.

Earlier, Adhikary had attended a programme in Nandigram on “individual” capacity. On Sunday he went to Netai in Jhargram district to hand over Puja gifts to the families of those who had been killed there in January 2011. At Sunday’s programme, he introduced himself as a servant of the people of Netai. He preferred to not mention himself as a Trinamool Congress leader, or a state minister, and it was neither a party programme nor a government initiative. This has led to fresh speculations about the possibility of Adhikary quitting the party. For months now, he has been distancing himself from Mamata Banerjee’s party. He has not been participating in either government or party programmes.

On Sunday, Adhikary handed over sewing machines to the women, and assured help to the people in the village. Significantly, he also mentioned that people in the area have grievances about certain issues – some had not got houses, and there was demand for jobs. He promised to look into the matter, he said. Just a week back, chief minister Mamata Banerjee, during her administrative meeting at Jhargram had said that all work in Jangalmahal area had been completed. Adhikary’s observations on Sunday is also being seen in this context in political circles.