Woe mounts for Mamata as TMC's minority cell leader quits

Kolkata: Signalling worse days ahead, West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress' Minority Cell leader Kabirul Islam resigned on Friday, making it the fourth big exit in last 24 hours ahead of the crucial state assembly polls that is barely four months away.

Kabirul Islam resigned from the post of the general secretary of Trinamool Congress' minority cell. The resignation is likely to hit the party heavily as it relies on the Muslim community heavily.

According to sources, many other resignations are also pouring in at lower tiers of the party, mostly in districts, ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's scheduled visit to West Bengal on December 19.

It came a day after former state Transport and Irrigation Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Jitendra Tiwari resigned from the party, and Trinamool Congress legislator from Barrackpore assembly constituency Shilbhadra Dutta also resigned earlier in the day.

Dutta sent his resignation letter to Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee.

Just a few hours after Dutta, Kabirul Islam too quit the ruling party in Bengal.

However, he has not revealed his next political move.

In a similar twin blow on Thursday, former Nandigram lawmaker Adhikari and Pandabeswar MLA Tiwari had resigned from the party's primary membership.

Tiwari also resigned from the post of chairman of the administrative board of the Asansol Municipal Corporation and the post of the party's district president in West Burdwan on Thursday. Tiwari had sent his resignation to Trinamool Congress state president Subrata Bakshi.