Following in the footsteps of his elder brother and former Trinamool Congress heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari who recently joined the BJP, his younger brother Soumendu Adhikari on Friday joined the BJP. Mr. Soumendu Adhikari, who was the administrator of the Contai Municipality till a few days ago, joined the BJP with a number of councillors of the civic body located in Purba Medinipur district.

A few days ago, the West Bengal government has removed Mr. Soumendu Adhikari from the post of administrator. He joined the BJP with 14 Trinamool Congress councillors of the civic body. Contai Municipality, which is also referred to as Kanthi Municipality, has 21 councillors.

Mr. Soumendu Adhikari was formally welcomed in the BJP at a public event in Purba Medinipur by his elder brother Mr. Suvendu Adhikari who described his removal from the post of administrator as a “vindictive move”.

Speaking to journalists, Mr. Soumendu Adhikari said he had taken the path chosen by his brother and the decision of the State government to remove him as the administrator would be reversed after the Assembly polls. “The TMC will have a price for targeting the Adhikari family,” he said.

Two members of the Adhikari family, Sisir Adhikari and Dibyendu Adhikari, are Lok Sabha MPs from Purba Medinipur district. Mr. Suvendu Adhikari has given hints that all the members of his family will join the BJP.

Speaking a public rally during the day, Mr. Suvendu Adhikari trained his guns on the Trinamool Congress and said the party had turned into a private company. He said that before the Adhikaris joined the TMC the party always came second in the elections in Purba Medinpur district

“People will vote in favour of the BJP, be it the civic polls or the Assembly elections. The BJP will be the frontrunner in Contai South and other places where it had been trailing in the last Lok Sabha polls,” Mr. Suvendu Adhikari said. In an oblique reference to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew and MP Abhishek Banerjee, Mr. Suvendu Adhikari said the TMC had been reduced to “one and half-person enterprise.”

The Trinamool Congress leadership said the party had anticipated well in advance that Mr. Soumendu Adhikari would join the BJP and therefore he was removed from the administrator of the civic body. “ He [Mr. Suvendu Adhikari] is new in the BJP and will have to make such attacks to stay relevant in the party,” TMC leader and State’s Minister Partha Chatterjee said.

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