West Bengal: Amid speculation about his political future, rebel TMC leader and West Bengal transport minister Suvendu Adhikari has resigned as Chairman of the Hooghly River Bridge Commission (HRBC) on Thursday.
Hooghly River Bridge Commission is a statutory body under the Transport Department, government of West Bengal.
Established in 1969, HRBC was mandated with the construction of the iconic Vidyasagar Setu, an engineering marvel over the river Hooghly that was inaugurated in 1992 as the longest cable-stayed bridge in the country.
Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee has been appointed as the new HRBC chairman. Banerjee gets the post for the second time.
Adhikari's resignation comes at a time when political circles in the state are abuzz on whether he will quit the Trinamool Congress and join BJP.
The 49-year-old strongman from East Midnapore district continues to keep the suspense building.
"I am still a primary member of a party. I am still a minister in the cabinet. Neither has the Chief Minister expelled me nor have I resigned," Mr Adhikari had said last week, while addressing his supporters.
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Adhikari has been conspicuous by his absence at various party events and even cabinet meetings chaired by CM Mamata Banerjee herself.
Instead, he has been busy attending public rallies organised under apolitical banners in his own stronghold East Midnapore.
"See you in the battlefield," Adhikari had said on November 10 while addressing his supporters who have been putting up posters across the state as "Amra Dadar Anugami" or "We are the followers of Dada".
Maintaining a low profile during his stint as an MP, Adhikari emerged as an alternate power centre within the TMC owing to his organizational skills in recent years. Adhikari, a two-time MP, came to limelight after galvanizing mass support for Mamata Banerjee during the Nandigram agitation.
