Bengal minister Suvendu Adhikari resigns from Mamata Cabinet ahead of Assembly polls
Senior Trinamool Congress leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday tendered resignation as West Bengal Transport minister, dealing a blow to the party's backchannel efforts to woo him back ahead of the Assembly elections. Adhikari's resignation comes a day after he resigned as Chairman of the Hooghly River Bridge Commission (HRBC). Hooghly River Bridge Commission is a statutory body under the Transport department.
Adhikari was at odds with the party's top brass. He sent his resignation letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by fax, which he then forwarded to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar by e-mail.
"Today at 1:05 pm a resignation letter of Mr. Suvendu Adhikari from office as minister addressed to Hon'ble Chief Minister has been forwarded to me. The issue will be addressed from constitutional perspective," the Governor tweeted.
The development came a few days after Mamata Banerjee announced at a rally in Bankura that she is the sole observer of the party in all the districts of the state. She is also the TMC's national president.
Adhikari had been maintaining a distance with the party for long. He also skipped cabinet meetings for some months.
The TMC leader was reportedly unhappy with the organisational rejig effected a few months ago.
