India: I am with Mamata Banerjee, says Satabdi after meeting Abhishek

 Satabdi Roy

Kolkata, Jan 15 (PTI) Birbhum MP Satabdi Roy said on Friday that there was no question of her leaving the Trinamool Congress, after a two-hour-long meeting with senior leader Abhishek Banerjee, who reached out to her as she voiced discontentment amid an ongoing exodus of leaders from the party ahead of the assembly elections.

Roy, an actor-turned-politician who is a leading face in Mamata Banerjee's cultural brigade, had claimed that she was not being informed about party events in her constituency, causing "mental pain".

The three-time lawmaker had said that she will inform the public at 2 pm on Saturday if she takes any "decision", following which the jittered Trinamool Congress started reaching out to her.

At first, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh met Roy at her south Kolkata residence in the afternoon after she spoke to a number of TV channels, dropping hints of her next political move.

"I have tried to reach out to the leadership but it has been of no use. If I am not able to work for the masses then what is the use of continuing in the post," she had told reporters.

As per party sources, Roy was having differences with TMC's Birbhum district chief Anubrata Mondal, who has often hit the headlines for controversial statements.

In the evening, Roy met Abhishek, the nephew of the chief minister, at his residence.

After coming out of the meeting, she told reporters that all the issues have been sorted out.

"I am with Mamata Banerjee. She is my leader. There was never any question of my leaving the party," she added.

Earlier in the day, Ghosh claimed that BJP leader Mukul Roy had reached out to Satabdi and requested for a meeting in Delhi on Saturday.

Roy, who had snatched the Birbhum seat from CPI(M) heavyweight Ram Chandra Dome in 2009 on debut, managed to win it by an overwhelming margin in 2019, even as the BJP routed the Trinamool Congress in the nearby constituencies.

She was last seen with the chief minister during a roadshow in Bolpur on December 29.

Amid a rising BJP in the state, the Trinamool Congress is facing an exodus in the top and middle orders ahead of the assembly elections.

Last month, Suvendu Adhikari, along with 35 party leaders including five MLAs and an MP, joined the BJP, setting off a churning as several disgruntled leaders rallied behind him.

Elections to the 294-member state assembly are likely in April-May.