Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress has lost another MLA a day after two leaders quit the party. Trinamool MLA Shilbhadra Dutta quit this morning in the third exit in two days, reinforcing worries for Bengal’s ruling party ahead of polls just five months away.Yesterday, Suvendu Adhikari and Jitendra Tiwari handed in their resignations. The back-to-back exits come just ahead of senior BJP leader Amit Shah’s visit to Bengal.Many of the rebels are expected to cross over to the BJP with much fanfare, in the presence of Amit Shah.Suvendu Adhikari, who played a big role in the Trinamool’s victory in the 2016 Bengal election, is a big catch for the BJP.Mr Adhikari is said to have control over local leaders in more than 50 seats in the western part of the state. He quit the state cabinet last month after much bitterness over the induction and rapid rise of Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee.Apart from Jitendra Tiwari, Trinamool MP Sunil Mondal is also believed to be on his way out.
