Resting all speculations of a rift with nephew Abhishek Banerjee to rest, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday restored the number 2 position of the Diamond Harbour MP by reappointing him as the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) national general secretary. This comes a week after the chief minister dissolved all party posts, announcing forming of the party’s new National Working Committee.
The decision was taken at the first meeting of the new National Working Committee – TMC’s top decision-making body – which was held at CM Banerjee’s Kalighat residence in Kolkata in the afternoon.
At an urgent meeting of the party’s core committee held on February 12 at the same venue, the Trinamool supremo had dissolved the previous working committee, stripped its leaders of their existing portfolios and named a fresh bunch of 20 leaders without assigning their posts.
By maintaining the status quo in her party, the CM reposed faith in her nephew to shoulder the crucial task of fulfilling the TMC’s national ambitions in the 2024 general elections. Mamata has already expressed her intent to fight in states like Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, besides, Tripura, Meghalaya and Goa.
With today’s development, she also brushed under the carpet the speculation of possible cracks developing within the party among multiple power centres, at least, for now.
“Abhishek Banerjee was and is an integral part of Trinamool. There is no question on that and there is nothing further to say on this matter,” said party leader Sushmita Dev after the meeting. Dev was named one of the leaders in charge of the North East, besides Mukul Sangma, and Subal Bhowmik.
Speaking exclusively to News18 barely three days ago, Abhishek Banerjee had also rubbished the rumours of a rift with the chief minister. “Mamata Banerjee is my leader. She has fought many battles with her head held high and looking at her, I have not only gathered strength and inspiration but also understood that nothing is more important than fighting for our people. Our Hon’ble Chairperson is our guiding light. She is the person who taught us to fight against all divisive forces,” he had said.
Key posts to both old and young leaders
However, reinstating Abhishek isn’t the only takeaway from Trinamool’s meeting today. CM Banerjee also elevated several leaders to key national positions in the party. What looked more like a balancing act vis-à-vis Abhishek was the fact that leaders like Chandrima Bhattacharya, Firhad Hakim and Aroop Biswas — who mostly managed party’s affairs in Bengal so far — were given key responsibilities in the national committee.
While Bhattacharya was named as the national vice-president alongside experienced leaders like Yashwant Sinha and Subrata Bakshi, Biswas was entrusted with the party’s finances. Hakim, a state cabinet minister and Kolkata mayor, has been asked to maintain a liaison between the committee members, a task that could prove vital during the party’s current expansion drive.
The office-bearer’s team in the Trinamool Congress is now a mix and match of new and old guards in the party, which is a tried and tested formula that CM Banerjee evidently found prudent not to deviate from.
Another interesting move by Mamata was to name Sukhendu Sekhar Roy as the party’s only national spokesperson and also the spokesperson for Rajya Sabha. Roy has nudged out Derek O’ Brien from these key responsibilities.
Both Derek O’ Brien and Saugata Roy, senior party leaders, were left out of the new working committee fanning speculations on possible reasons behind the move. The one that most caught the attention of political observers was Derek’s proximity to Abhishek and whether this was Mamata’s way of sending a message.
Sukhendu, on the other hand, seems to have clearly earned the trust of Banerjee in holding on to the positions of the chief whip and deputy leader of the Rajya Sabha alongside the above-mentioned positions.
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