TMC MP Sisir Adhikari, Suvendu Adhikari's father, joins BJP during Amit Shah's rally in Bengal
Patriarch of Nandigram's Adhikari family, Sisir confirmed the rumours of his joining the party, ahead of Union home minister Amit Shah's rally in Egra, which he will attend.
Trinamool Congress MP Sisir Adhikari on Sunday confirmed the reports of him joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said he was made to switch camps by chief minister Mamata Banerjee-led party, against which now he will put up a staunch fight in the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal to "save the honour of Midnapore".
Patriarch of Nandigram's Adhikari family, Sisir confirmed the rumours of his joining the party, ahead of Union home minister Amit Shah's rally in Egra, which he will attend.
The Adhikari family, which wields considerable influence in Bengal's Purba Medinipur district, could play its part in helping BJP gain a rise in voteshare. Sisir's son's Suvendhu already joined the BJP in December last year.
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"They (TMC leaders) forced me to join the BJP. Let them (TMC) do what they want, and I will do what I can," Sisir Adhikari told PTI before leaving for Egra.
The TMC MP had accused the ruling party of "humiliating" him and son Suvendu, who is locked in a fierce battle with Banerjee in the district's Nandigram constituency.
He asserted that Suvendu Adhikari will bag the Nandigram seat by a comfortable margin. Suvendu's brother Soumendu has also joined the saffron camp. Another brother Dibyendu, a TMC MP from Tamluk, may make the switch today along with the father.
"Suvendu will win the polls by a huge margin. The TMC will be wiped out of East Midnapore," the Lok Sabha MP added.
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Earlier, Sisir Adhikari said he is ready to join the BJP if his son, Suvendu asks him to.
On switching to the saffron camp, Adhikari said that Banerjee will not be able to defeat BJP using police as her tool and in the upcoming elections BJP will replace the Trinamool Congress to form a government in West Bengal.
The BJP and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) are the main contenders in the Assembly election. The top leadership of the BJP has been holding public meetings and roadshows across the state in recent months.
West Bengal will go to polls in eight phases beginning March 27. The polling will continue till April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.