Amit Mitra appointed as new spokesman for Trinamool Congress

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has appointed the state finance and industry minister Amit Mitra as the party spokesman.

"Amit Mitra has been appointed as spokesman of the party and will be assisted by Derek O'Brien, the party's Rajya Sabha member," TMC all-India general secretary Mukul Roy told in Kolkata on Wednesday.

A party source said TMC appointed Mitra and O'Brien as party spokesmen to interact with the media at the national level. Roy will continue to oversee the organisational matters as the party's all-India general secretary, sources said.

Mitra's appointment as party spokesman came at a time when Banerjee is seeking to play a decisive role at the Centre after the Lok Sabha elections and has already kicked off her campaign trail outside West Bengal from Tripura on Tuesday.

Known for his proximity to industry captains as former secretary-general of FICCI, Mitra was given the additional charge of Industries department by Banerjee during a reshuffle on December 20 last. A new entrant to politics, Mitra joined TMC before the Assembly elections in 2011 on Banerjee's invitation.