Will join BJP, save honour of Midnapore: TMC MP Sisir Adhikari

Kanthi (WB), Mar 21: Ending weeks of speculation, disgruntled TMC MP Sisir Adhikari said on Sunday that he will join the BJP, following in the footsteps of his two sons Suvendu and Soumendu, and put up a formidable fight against the Mamata Banerjee camp to "save the honour of Midnapore".

The patriarch of the Adhikari family -- which wields considerable influence in Bengal''s Purba Medinipur district -- said that he was forced to switch camp, as the leaders of the ruling party left him with no other option.

Earlier, too, the TMC MP had accused the ruling party of "humiliating" him and son Suvendu, who is locked in a fierce battle with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the district''s Nandigram constituency.

"They (TMC leaders) forced me to join the BJP. Let them (TMC) do what they want, and I will do what I can," Adhikari told reporters here before leaving for Egra, where he is set to attend Union Home Minister Amit Shah''s rally.

He asserted that Suvendu Adhikari will bag the Nandigram seat by a comfortable margin.

"Suvendu will win the polls by a huge margin. The TMC will be wiped out of East Midnapore," the Lok Sabha MP added.

Sources in the BJP said his other son Dibyendu, a TMC MP from Tamluk, may also follow suit.