Kolkata: Hours before Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s two-day visit to this city, Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislator Rajib Banerjee resigned Friday from the West Bengal legislative Assembly. Earlier, Rajib Banerjee had resigned as West Bengal’s Forest Minister, January 22. Banerjee was an MLA from Howrah Domjur Assembly constituency. He met Speaker Biman Banerjee in the Assembly and tendered his resignation.
“It is with my sincere gratitude that I am resigning as member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Serving for the people of West Bengal has been my life’s greatest achievement, I am gratified for what has been accomplished during nearly 10 years of my term,” Banerjee wrote on his social media page.
Banerjee wished everyone and his Legislative Assembly colleagues the best in the future. “I deeply appreciate the confidence you have placed in me. I also thank the people of Domjur constituency for believing in me. I promise to stay beside you all and work for your and Bengal’s betterment in the future to come,” he added.
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Speculation is rife that Banerjee might join the BJP during Shah’s rally at Dumurjala stadium ground January 31. Another Trinamool Congress MLA, Vaishali Dalmiya, who had been suspended from the party, is also likely to join the BJP in Shah’s presence, sources said.
Banerjee has made it clear that he has every intention to contest in the upcoming Assembly polls scheduled for April-May this year. In an earlier post, he had said that he would surely want to continue to serve the people of his Assembly constituency like he has been doing so for the past 10 years. However, in that post he had not specified as to he would represent which party.
However, Friday’s resignation from the Assembly means, that he would certainly not be given the TMC ticket. It leaves only one option for him… and that is to represent the BJP. Sources close to the former minister said Friday that he certainly will be in the poll fray when the elections are conducted.
