A month after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) debacle in the West Bengal Assembly elections, party president Mamata Banerjee on Friday reappointed MP Abhishek Banerjee as national general secretary, but also appointed two of her loyalists as joint secretaries.
TMC parliamentary leader in Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien and Rajya Sabha member Dula Sen have been appointed as joint national secretaries to assist Abhishek.
“Abhishek Banerjee will remain national general secretary. Derek O’Brien and Dhola Sen have been appointed as joint national secretaries to assist him,” Serampore Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee said after the meeting.
The announcement comes after a high-level meeting of the party’s National Working Committee at Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata on Friday.
The move comes at a time when several TMC leaders have questioned Abhishek Banerjee’s leadership.
West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathendra Bose on Wednesday recognized a bloc of 58 rebel TMC legislators as the main opposition party in the 294-member state assembly.
Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandiban Saha – who was expelled by the TMC on Monday – were appointed leader and deputy leader of the opposition, respectively. There is speculation that the party may face a vertical split in Parliament as well.
Kalyan Banerjee said the TMC state committee has been reconstituted with a series of new appointments. “Former government minister Chandrima Bhattacharya has been appointed as the new state chief, replacing Subrata Bakshi, who is suffering from an illness,” he added.
In addition, Sajida Ahmed, Mamata Thakur, Swati Khandekar and Nayana Bandyopadhyay have been appointed as state vice presidents. Babar Ali, Pulak Roy, Ashima Batra, Arup Biswas and Rajib Banerjee are the state secretaries. The party also carried out comprehensive reforms in its youth, women’s, union and farmers’ wings.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rahul Sinha claimed that the TMC will collapse. “The TMC will disintegrate in the next few days. It is just a matter of time before Mamata Banerjee is left alone,” Sinha said.
