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Manjul Krishna Thakur, a state minister of Mamata Banerjee's cabinet recently quit TMC to join BJP and fears that many more TMC leaders could do so has further strengthened these voices of mid-term poll in TMC.
"In the wake of this Saradha scam it is impossible to stay in this party, people are mocking us," said Thakur, who held the refugee, relief and rehabilitation portfolio in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's cabinet, and who later joined the BJP along with his son, Subrata Thakur.
Before, Manjul Krishna Thakur, former TMC MP Sucharu Ranjan Halder had quit the party to join BJP apart from many grass-root TMC workers across districts like Nadia, North 24 Paraganas, Jalpaigudi, Cooch Behar. Former Ralway minister and TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi has given enough hint that he is already tilted towards BJP, by praising Modi against the party line.
TMC Rajysabha MP Debabrata Bandyopadhay has gone a step forward publicly saying there is "dishonest element" in the party whioch is not being curbed by "autocratic to leadership" of the party. Another Tmc MLA from Siuri in Birbhum has recently written to Mamata Banerjee to quit the party, unless she takes action against his "corrupt colleagues" in his locality. Mamata Banejee's cabinet members like panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee and Consumer Affairs Minister Sadhan Pandey has openly spoken against party-line recently.
Mamata Banerjee too is aware of all these as she had publicly said, "I know BJP is approaching Subhendu to join their party or else they would be arrested." Subhendu Adhikari, party's Lok Sabha MP, is apparently not happy with the party leadership ever since he lost the post of Youth TMC president to chief minister's nephew Abhishek Banerjee.
Amid all these, a senior TMC MP, who had earlier also been a Union minister, had mooted the proposal of early polls at a party meeting recently in the presence of party supremo, Mamata Banerjee. As the Saradha scam has damaged the party, there is growing public perception about party leader's links with the tainted company.
Citing this, the senior TMC MP, said at the meeting that it would be a politically wise decision to get re-elected. The re-election can be used by the party as people's stamp on TMC line of "CBI being used as political tool by BJP". The MP was also supported by one of the senior state ministers as well.
Mamata Banerjee, however, did not say anything leaving her opinion on the matter, to party leaders' guess.
With the CBI summon to Mukul Roy, this view of going for mid-term poll is gathering steam. "If Mukul Roy is arrested, it would wise to go to poll, before the CBI investigation further damages the party," said a senior party leader, adding, "Today it is Manjul Krishna Thakur, tomorrow it can be another minister. How further we can allow this Saradha scam damge the party before going to poll?"
The answer, of course, is only with West Bengal chief minister.
