A meeting was convened by CM Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat wherein four state ministers were absent. While three cited seemingly genuine reasons, the absence of Rajib Banerjee who is the minister for forest affairs, led to people wondering if he will be the next to quit TMC.
The other three absentees included North Bengal development minister Rabindranath Ghosh, tourism minister Gautam Deb and the minister for fisheries Chandranath Sinha.
Rajib Banerjee's absence is being seen in the light of him expressing discontent in the recent past. In November, he had talked about nepotism and sycophancy in the party, stating how he was disappointed seeing the "yes men" gain prominence.
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Later there was also an indirect reference to Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee.
This in fact led to him being called for talks by Secretary-General Partha Chatterjee. The talks are reported to have involved a cordial conversation wherein Banerjee's concerns were not linked to Suvendu Adhikari.
However, as the forest affairs minister could not be contacted for his comments over his absence in the cabinet meeting, the rumour mills have resumed the buzz around his exit from TMC.
In case Banerjee ends up leaving TMC for BJP, it will prove to be a second significant blow to the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC which only recently witnessed its heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari joining Bharatiya Janata Party in Union Home Minister Amit Shah's grand rally.
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