The Shake-Up

Mamata junked the old posts, including nep­ hew Abhishek’s, and has put in place a new 20­member wor k ­ ing comm ittee

- Romita Datta

It started with the party organizational election where Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee was re-elected to the chairperson’s post. Ten days later, at a hastily-convened meeting on February 12, she disbanded the posts of national general secretary held by her nephew and party No. 2 Abhishek Banerjee, abolished sundry other posts and removed their office-bearers and constituted a 20-member ‘national working committee’.

As of now, there is no hierarchy in the new committee, which includes herself, Abhishek, and a motley crowd of partymen from diverse backgrounds. Among them are political stalwarts such as Yashwant Sinha and Mamata’s trusted loyalists like Amit Mitra, Partha Chatterjee, Firhad Hakim, and Aroop Biswas besides leaders like party strongman and Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal. Sources say Mamata will allocate portfolios by the end of February.