Though the BJP leaders, either the national or the state, have not confirmed his possible admission in the party, except the Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh saying Adhikari is "welcome to join", speculations are rife that he along with his father Sisir Adhikari who is a senior TMC leader and an MP and his two brothers, may float a regional party, which eventually may enter into some sort of alliance with the BJP for contesting the ensuing assembly election.

Though his father, Sisir Adhikari on his part made it explicit that he continues to be with TMC, insiders claim that Suvendu would not have quit without his consent. Interestingly a day ahead of Suvendu quitting the party, Sisir had said: “Suvendu is a mature political leader. He is an adult and can speak for himself. I expect he will take the right decision.” He even didn’t give much weightage to BJP. “They (BJP) have opened a new shop. No one knows what kind of stuff, fresh or rotten, they keep. Trinamool, on the other hand, is a tested shop and people won’t go for the shop they haven’t tested”.

Sisir had pointed out that Trinamool was on firm ground in the district. “Individuals are important. But the organization is not solely dependent on any individual. “Suvendu nursed the feeling that Abhishek Banerjee nephew of Mamata was dictating the functioning of the party and in the process seniors like him were being neglected and side lined. In fact this feeling is nursed by most of the senior TMC leaders. At a public meeting he commented; "I have not arrived by parachute or by a lift, I have reached where I am by climbing up the stairs, one step at a time".

This feeling of neglect was so strong that even the eleventh hour initiative of Mamata to assuage the feelings of Suvendu failed to buy peace. At the instructions of Mamata the district committee of the party was reconstituted and a number of close aids of Suvendu were given place of prominence, but Suvendu refused to fall inline. In fact the “consensus list” of the office bearers was released by his father, Sisir Adhikari, the district chief of TMC. According to Trinamool insiders, through this exercise an effort was made to send the message that the party wants to retain Suvendu. On the occasion Sisir observed; “Trinamool was on firm ground in the district. Individuals are important. But the organization is not solely dependent on any individual.”

His supporters claim that Suvendu Adhikari, had led the Trinamool's struggle at Nandigram in 2007 and captured it from the Left. Nandigram, and then Singur, catapulted the Trinamool to power in Bengal in 2011. But the fact also remains that vast ground level changes have taken place since then. New forces have come up. Even the CPI(M) has succeeded in retrieving some of its old ground. Besides Suvendu also does not have that militant image amongst the residents of Nandigram.

Nevertheless panchayat members from Nandigram have started resigning from the TMC. But there is a difference in their action than that of Suvendu. Bayal panchayat marks the second notable loss of control for the ruling party in East Midnapore since Kendamari Jalpai panchayat. These panchayat leaders however alleged; “Trinamool rode the Nandigram wave to come to power in 2011 but none of the party’s promises made then, including punishment for the guilty police officers who attacked villagers during Left rule, were fulfilled. Even Suvendu Adhikari did nothing for them. We felt disillusioned with the party, and we hope to fulfil our demands through the BJP”.

The leaders said while Minister Hakim credited Mamata Banerjee for the Nandigram movement, Adhikari credited himself, but no one spoke about the anti-land acquisition movement. “Such comments from top Trinamul leaders made us uncomfortable to stay on in the party,” said the panchayat leaders.

Unfortunately for Suvendu he is said to be involved in Narada sting operation. The Nandigram MLA, who was seen taking money on the Narada sting operation tapes and has been named in a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate. Party sources the ED raid has been a major factor for his quitting the TMC.

It is also said that he has been displeased with the influence of poll strategist Prashant Kishor in party affairs. Suvendu nurses the feeling that Prashant is no match for him and he has more high level of intelligence than him. In fact at the initiative of the party leadership Kishor travelled 150 km to Adhikari's home in East Midnapore's Kanthi this month, but had to leave after only meeting his father, Trinamool MP Sisir Adhikari.

Party insiders maintain that Mamata has been striving to keep Suvendu in the party, but his own compulsions were so arduous that he was finding it tough to continue with TMC. Over the past two weeks the Trinamool had deployed senior MP Sougata Roy to talk to Mr Adhikari. At least two meetings were held in Kolkata, but those yielded no results.

With assembly elections less than five months away in West Bengal, the situation is becoming tougher for Mamata as Suvendu is a leader with mass base and he can take along with him some base level workers and even a few MLAs of Midnapore district.BJP is waiting to welcome Suvendu as he will be a real big catch on election eve to weaken Mamata. Next few days will determine what will be the final decision of the Trinamool rebel leader and the extent of its impact. (IPA Service)