Amid infighting, Didi reinstates nephew as TMC gen secy

New Delhi, February 18

Close to a week after party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee abolished all posts in the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and retained only her own position as the chairperson, her nephew and political successor Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee was reinstated as the all-India general secretary of the party.

One of Mamata’s trusted deputy Firhad Hakim has been given the responsibility of coordinating between the newly formed national working committee and the chairperson.

These decisions were taken at the first national working committee meeting of the TMC chaired by Mamata at her Kalighat residence on Friday.

It is believed that Hakim’s elevation is strategically important as it is designed to keep Abhishek in control and not allow him to exercise the free hand that he had enjoyed in the first seven months as the all-India general secretary of the TMC. Hakim will prevent it by functioning as the liaison between him and the TMC chief. The new appointments also indicated that Abhishek’s push for the one-man, one-post in the party has been dumped. Besides Hakim, various other TMC leaders have been given multiple posts.

Mamata has appointed three vice-presidents — Yashwant Sinha, Subrata Bakshi and Chandrima Bhattacharya.