In a major organisational reshuffle after the assembly polls, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday (June 5) appointed her nephew Abhishek Banerjee as All India General Secretary of the party. Abhishek is an MP from Diamond Harbour and his elevation to the top party position was been expedited by her aunt who is looking to groom him as her potential heir.
“Our party chief Mamata Banerjee has nominated MP Abhishek Banerjee as the all India general secretary of the TMC,” said party leader Partha Chatterjee at a press meet.
Banerjee will step down as in-charge of the TMC youth wing and the position will now be filled by actor-turned-politician Saayoni Ghosh. TMC effected a few other changes in key leadership roles as well. Abhishek’s aide Kunal Ghosh was made the state general secretary, whilst Barrackpore MLA and director Raj Chakraborty the head of its cultural wing.
TMC managed to edge out BJP in last month’s assembly polls, courtesy, the latter’s muddled and at times, inconsistent political campaign. However, if Mamata continues to project someone like Abhishek, a product of high-end nepotism as her heir when the cadre workers do not have a sound opinion of him, the decision could have serious ramifications in the long run.
Banerjee’s resume, just like her aunt, is filled with purported involvements in numerous scams that have rocked the state in the years gone by. Reported by TFI, just before the elections, few audio tapes were leaked which revealed that Abhishek received Rs 35 crores every month as part of cut money via a syndicate racket in relation to the coal smuggling case.
The audio tapes consist of a conversation allegedly between Ganesh Bagadiya, who is believed to be a close aide of one Anup Majhi (aka Lala) — an accused in the coal smuggling case — and a government official. In the tapes, Bagadiya and the government official can be heard discussing how Abhishek was receiving the money.
Moreover, earlier in February, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had issued summons to Abhishek Banerjee’s wife, Rujira Banerjee in connection with coal pilferage and illegal mining. The CBI had also summoned the sister of Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rujira, Menaka Gambhir.
Being projected as a CM face after Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek is anything but liked by the remainder of TMC leadership, who feel that he is being unfairly projected as a future supremo of the party. Moreover, the fact that senior party leaders were swept out of the way to clear the path for Banerjee’s coronation must not have sat right with the upper-rank officials of TMC.
