TMC appoints Derek O'Brien, Dola Sen as Joint Secretaries in revamp

Trinamool Congress reshuffles its national and state leadership, appointing Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen as Joint Secretaries. The party will also challenge Ritabrata Banerjee's appointment as Leader of Opposition in the Calcutta High Court.

TMC Announces Major Organisational Reshuffle

All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MP Kalyan Banerjee announced key appointments following the party's National Working Committee meeting, held at Mamata Banerjee's residence. The party has appointed senior leaders Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen as Joint Secretaries at the national level. They will work closely with National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee to assist him in his organisational responsibilities, according to a party statement on Friday. The restructuring also addresses leadership changes necessitated by health concerns. With West Bengal state president Subrata Bakshi currently unwell, Chandrima Bhattacharya has been tasked to replace him. The party's state leadership team will be further supported by Vice Presidents, including Sajda Ahmed and Nayna Bandyopadhyay, among others.

Focusing on the party's front-line functioning, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee announced that Saayoni Ghosh will continue as president of the Youth TMC, while Mala Roy has been appointed as the president of the All India Trinamool Mahila Congress. Priyanka Adhikary will lead the party's student wing. On the communications front, Kalyan Banerjee and Derek O'Brien have been designated as the party's national spokespersons, while Kunal Ghosh will serve as the official spokesperson for the party's state unit.

TMC to Challenge LoP Appointment, Alleges BJP Violence

Meanwhile, eight MLAs and six MPs attended a high-level party meeting at Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee's residence in Kolkata today, amid reports of growing internal division within the party. The leaders present at the residence included MLAs Bina Mondal, Ashima Patra, Madan Mitra, Kunal Ghosh, Firhad Hakim, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Biman Banerjee, and Ashok Kumar Deb. The delegation of MPs in attendance comprised Dola Sen, Mala Roy, Kalyan Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O'Brien, and Sudip Bandyopadhyay.

Following the meeting, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee termed the appointment of Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly as 'illegal.' He announced that the party intends to move the Calcutta High Court to challenge the legality of the appointment. "...We have decided that the LoP appointed by the Speaker is illegal. We are approaching the Court against this on Monday. We will file a petition before the High Court..." Banerjee told reporters.

The TMC MP further alleged that the party would initiate legal action regarding the reported killings of TMC workers by their BJP counterparts. He also declared that the TMC will challenge the alleged registration of "false cases" against its party members. "We will fight against the manner in which the BJP is killing TMC workers and lodging false cases against them. We will fight on the streets, we will fight in Court," added Banerjee.

Rebel Faction Claims Majority Support

The TMC meeting was held amidst the backdrop of heightened political turbulence within the TMC following claims by a group of rebel MLAs, including expelled party leaders Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, who have said they have the backing of 58 legislators in the West Bengal Assembly, and rejected the party leadership's choice of Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay for the post of Leader of Opposition (LoP).

Ritabrata Banerjee later claimed that the faction had been "accepted as the principal opposition" in the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly and that the Speaker had acknowledged "our claim".

"This two-thirds strong legislative team of the Trinamool Congress inside the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly does not believe in 'I', it believes in 'we'. Whatever norms are framed out, we have followed every norm, and that's why we have been accepted as the principal opposition in the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly," he said.

"We want Mamata Banerjee to be our chief advisor, to give us advice that will help us in strengthening our position as the opposition. Eighty members were elected by the Trinamool Congress symbol. More than two-thirds of them have given our claim, and the claim has been accepted," he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)