Abhishek Banerjee pitches TMC reshuffle to Mamata, says don’t just reward loyalty | Kolkata

KOLKATA: Nearly 10 months after he advocated giving younger people important roles in the party, Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday said he has recommended a reshuffle in the party organisation that rewards performance, not just loyalty.

Abhishek, 37, told reporters that he has recommended to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, his aunt, that a TMC reshuffle must be carried out across Bengal,

“The reshuffle should be based on performance, not loyalty. The CPI(M) is the biggest example of what can happen to a party if it focuses solely on loyalty. I have sent a list to our chairperson. She will take the decision,” the TMC Lok Sabha member said after meeting party workers who had gathered to wish him on his birthday.

The CPI(M), which ruled Bengal for 34 years, currently does not have a single MLA or MP from the state.

TMC leaders said Banerjee has planned the reshuffle with an eye on the 2026 assembly elections after an analysis of the 2024 Lok Sabha results in Kolkata and urban areas in several districts indicated that there were several pockets in seats that had gone to the TMC where the BJP was ahead.

In all, the TMC won 29 of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats and the BJP’s score reduced from 18 seats in 2019 to only 12 this time. Yet, in terms of assembly constituencies, the TMC had trailed BJP in several seats. Abhishek Banerjee had raised this issue at the TMC’s July 21 annual rally and launched an outreach programme in October.

Abhishek’s formulation could hurt leaders such as TMC heavyweight Anubrata Mondal, the Birbhum district unit president and one of the oldest loyalists of the chief minister.

The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested 64-year-old Mondal in August, 2022 in the cattle smuggling case. His daughter, Sukanya Mondal, was arrested in April 2023 as an alleged accomplice. Both got bail and returned home in September. CBI and Enforcement Directorate are probing more than 70 properties, land deals and businesses allegedly linked to them.

During Mondal’s long absence, Mamata Banerjee formed a six-member organisational core committee in Bibhum comprising MPs, MLAs and senior leaders from the district. TMC won both Lok Sabha seats in Birbhum under their leadership.

“The organisation in Birbhum should be in the hands of the core committee,” Abhishek Banerjee said on Thursday.

The chief minister has instructed the committee to meet on November 16, the first to be held since Mondal’s release, legislator Bikash Roy Chawdhury, the committee’s convenor, said on Friday.

“Mondal, our district president, will attend the meeting alongside others,” he said.

Kajal Sheikh, a known detractor of Mondal and member of the core committee, hailed Abhishek Banerjee’s decision.

“Abhishek Banerjee is a strong organisational leader. He knows what is right for the party,” Sheikh, whose selection as chief of the Birbhum zilla parishad in 2023 surprised many, said.

While Mondal did not make any statement, TMC veterans gave measured reactions to the imminent changes.

Saugata Roy, 77, the eldest among TMC Lok Sabha members, said Abhishek Banerjee was the future leader.

“It is well known that he is the heir to Mamata Banerjee. I believe Abhishek is an efficient organiser,” Roy said.

Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee, 67, cited 78-year-old Donald Trump winning the US Presidential election.

“Trump’s victory proves that age is no factor in politics. Its popularity that matters,” Kalyan Banerjee said.