In major Trinamool rejig, most district unit chiefs replaced

The reshuffle has taken place at a time when senior party leader Partha Chatterjee was arrested in connection with an alleged school staff recruitment scam. The party, however, claimed that the change had nothing to do with the former minister’s arrest.

A senior TMC leader said, “Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had already announced in May that the organisational overhaul will be executed in June or July. The reshuffle has been effected to synchronise the state cabinet and the party organisation. Some of those who have been relieved from the posts of district presidents may get a place in the council of ministers.”

According to a party’s release, MP Kakali Ghosh Dastidar is the new president of the Barasat organisational district, replacing Ashani Mukhopadhyay, the Barasat Municipality chairman who is considered close to Partha Chatterjee. Shaoni Singha Roy, a former Congress MLA, is the new president of Murshidabad and Baharampur organisational districts. MP Khalilur Rahman has been retained as the president of the Jangipur organisational district. Interestingly, the party’s controversial Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal has been retained along with Ashish Banerjee as chairman.

The party has bifurcated the Darjeeling district organisational committee. While Rajya Sabha MP Shanta Chhetri has been made the president of Darjeeling Hill, Papia Ghosh, daughter of former minister Rabindranath Ghosh, will be the chief of Darjeeling plains.

Mahua Gope was made the Jalpaiguri district president while MLA Khageswar Roy was appointed chairman of the same.

Kanaiyalal Agrawal and Abdul Rahim Bakshi have been retained as presidents of North Dinajpur and Malda districts, respectively, with senior MLA Samar Mukherjee as chairman of the Malda committee.

Naihati MLA Partha Bhowmik has been removed as the president of the Dum Dum organisational district while Nirmal Ghosh was retained as chairman amid speculation that the former may be given a cabinet berth.

Hooghly has been merged into the Srirampur organisational district which will have Arindam Gooni, who defeated former opposition leader Abdul Mannan in the Assembly polls, as its president, replacing Snehashis Chakraborty. Dhanekhali MLA Asima Patra will be the district committee chairman.

Tarkeswar MLA Ramendu Singh Roy is the new president of the Arambagh organisational district with Jaydev Jana as its chairman. Former MP Parthapratim Roy has been replaced as the Cooch Behar district president by Abhijit De Bhowmik.

Gautam Das was removed as the president of Dakshin Dinajpur district and the responsibility has been given to Mrinal Sarkar with Nikhil Singh Roy as chairman. Kulpi MLA Yogaranjan Halder has been replaced by Mandirbazar MLA Joydev Haldar as president of Sundarban district.

Former MLA Ujjwal Chatterjee has become the new president of West Burdwan district.

Minister Soumen Mahapatra, who has returned as president of the Tamluk organisational district, is likely to be removed from the cabinet. Egra MLA Tarun Maiti is new president of Kanthi organisational district, while Dibyendu Singh Mohapatra will helm Bankura district with Manik Mitra as chairman.

Alok Mukhopadhyay is the president of Bishnupur district while Pingla MLA Ajit Maiti will be coordinator of West Midnipur district. While Hanseshwar Mahat was made president of Purulia district, Nakashipara MLA Kallol Khanke has been retained as president of Krishnanagar organisational district that will have Kaliganj legislator Nasiruddin Ahmed as chairman.

Also, Debashis Gangopadhyay was appointed the president of the Ranaghat organisational district with Pramath Ranjan Bose as chairman.