The fear of multiple defections ran high in the ruling Trinamool Congress with rebel party leader Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday submitting his resignation from the Legislative Assembly before joining other rebel leaders in a closed-door meeting at the house of TMC MP Sunil Mandal some 80 miles from Kolkata.

Adhikari was likely to resign from the primary membership of his party on Friday, before joining the BJP in Delhi, sources close to him said adding there were chances that he could also join the saffron party in the presence of BJP president Amit Shah who is scheduled to visit Bengal from Saturday.

The Wednesday’s quick turn of events saw Adhikari depositing his resignation letter --- which curiously bore no date --- at the Assembly secretariat before driving straight to Mandal’s house off Burdwan.

There other rebel TMC satraps like Asansol MLA and Mayor Jitendra Tiwari, and Kalna party MLA and South Bengal Surface Transport Corporation Chairman Colonel Diptangshu Mukherjee joined him in a closed door meeting. 

Tiwari met Adhikari hours after receiving a phone call from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from Coochybehar who assured him of an audience on December 18 after her return from North Bengal.

 “Though anyone can meet anyone in a democracy but it is strange that Jitendra joined the Wednesday’s meeting despite being assured by the Chief Minister that his grievances would be heard and redressed,” Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim said.

Referring to the technical aspects of Adhikari’s resignation, Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee said that the papers were not presented to him personally adding, “I will look into it when I go to the Assembly. Things will be done according to the rule book.” Constitutional experts like Udayan Banerjee however quoted Article 206 saying such resignations required to be presented to the Speaker personally with dates of resignation being mentioned in it.

Reacting to the Wednesday’s developments senior TMC leader Saugato Roysaid “this is all the fallout of Suvendu’s earlier dealings with the BJP… I think he has struck a deal with the BJP for better posts other than what he was enjoying here as the Transport Minister with two additional portfolios.”

Calling Adhikari and likes of him as “traitors,” party MP and senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee said, “let him go to BJP … he has higher ambitions of being a Chief Minister or Deputy Chief Minister … let us  see what he gets there.”

In what could bring more anxiety to the TMC leadership the Diamond Harbour MLA Dipak Haldar on Wednesday too started playing the rebellious tune even as his posters jointly with those of Adhikari appeared all around his constituency.

When asked to comment on the developments he said he had personally not given those posters but said “those who might have given them might be my good friends as I am an admirer of Suvendu Adhikari.”

Elsewhere Congress Lok Sabha Leader Adhir Chowdhury said that “Mamata Banerjee is getting the taste of the same medicine that she prescribed for the other opposition parties,” while CPI(M)’s Rabin Deb said “it was inevitable that the leaders would quit one by one … now the question remains to be seen as to whether the BJP will retain its original colour or whether it will be submerged by the TMC defectors.” Senior BJP leaders Kaliash Vijaybargiya and Dilip Ghosh however said that they would welcome the “clean and able leaders” like Adhikari and would ensure that they got adequate respect in the party.

Meanwhile, Adhikari reportedly wrote to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar about “threats” on his person and to his followers in the wake of  present circumstances.

Adhikari alleged that the State Government was preparing false charges against him and his followers and sought the Governor’s intervention.

Incidentally Dhankar who visited Diamond Harbour too alleged how the Government was using the officials to falsely frame the defecting politicians asking the bureaucrats to watch out their steps as “note” was being taken of their activities and would be referred to in future.

Sources in the BJP said that Centre was proposing to provide special security cover for at least 25 TMC leaders and MLAs who might switch side in the coming days. Among them 10 would be provided Y-Plus security while 10 would be given Y category security. The remaining five are likely to get X category security.