Kolkata: Putting to rest speculations over who will be Mamata Banerjee’s successor in the Trinamool Congress, the party supremo’s nephew, Abhishek, was made the national general secretary Saturday. This is the second most powerful post in the party. However, the most significant outcome of yesterday’s restructuring and reshuffling in the TMC, seems to be the bringing to the forefront of those who are seen as Abhishek’s loyalists in the party.
While veteran leader Subrata Bakshi has been replaced by Abhishek, Abhishek’s former position as the national president of Trinamool’s youth wing has been given to Saayoni Ghosh, an actor turned politician, who joined the party on 25 February. The party has made Kunal Ghosh, a journalist turned politician and the party’s former Rajya Sabha MP, its state general secretary.
The announcements for the new roles in the party were made by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Even though Abhishek’s elevation was expected by many, the new positions for Saayoni Ghosh and Kunal Ghosh have come as a surprise. A senior Trinamool leader called it the highlighting of “team Abhishek”.
Talking to The Print, Kunal Ghosh, the newly appointed state general secretary said, “Our leaders have brought in a combination of youth and experience. The veterans are there at the party. They will always guide us.”
His words were echoed by Subrata Mukherjee, a senior leader and minister.
“We have to give space to the young generation. Mamata started as a politician when she was in college. Abhishek was given an assignment to defeat BJP, and he has become 100 per cent successful in that. He deserves this,” said Mukherjee.
While Kunal Ghosh has had a chequered past in the party, including arrest in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam and expulsion from the party for “anti-party” activities, Saayoni is a fresh recruit who lost out to BJP candidate Agnimitra Paul from the Asansol South constituency in the recent assembly elections in the state.
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The new faces of power
Kunal Ghosh, the state secretary was a journalist, who joined the Trinamool Congress after the party came to power in 2011. He was nominated as the Rajya Sabha MP of Trinamool Congress in 2013 and was also the CEO of the media enterprises of Saradha Group of companies owned by Sudipta Sen, who was also the managing director of the company.
Saradha Group of Companies went bust in 2013, after it was accused of taking money from people illegally and over other fraudulent schemes. Ghosh was arrested in November, 2013 by the West Bengal police in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam. He was named in the FIR as one of the prime accused. Two months before his arrest, he was suspended by the party for “anti-party” activities. Ghosh was in jail for years, before being granted bail in 2016. He has been grilled by the CBI and ED multiple times in the past eight years, in connection with the scam investigation.
During these years, Ghosh had been unsparing in his criticism of chief minister Mamata Banerjee. However, he never left the primary membership of Trinamool Congress. In 2017, he was offered membership and the position of chairman of the central Telephone Advisory Committee, which he refused.
Ghosh, one of the prime accused in Saradha chit fund scam, returned to active politics and the Trinamool fold in July, 2020. He was included in the official list of designated national and state spokespersons of the party on 28 July.
Talking to The Print, Ghosh said, “I have passed through several ups and downs. There were difficult and critical phases. But I never quit the Trinamool Congress. I continued with my monthly subscription for the party, and which was accepted by the party. I never missed that.”
“Didi and Abhishek have trusted me with a big responsibility. And I will not let them down. I had issues against certain functionaries of the party, who were the real beneficiaries of the scam. All of them are now in the BJP fold,” he added .
Meanwhile, Saayoni Ghosh, is one of the biggest surprises the party had thrown at its members. Ghosh joined the Trinamool on 25 February. Before her joining, she triggered a controversy, by posting some contentious images on social media against which senior BJP leader and ex-Governor Tathagata Roy registered an FIR. Her action was also criticised by other senior BJP leaders.
Within a month of joining the party, Ghosh was made the party’s candidate in Asansol South assembly constituency. She was fielded against the BJP’s Mahila Morcha President Agnimitra Paul, and lost to her.
“Didi blessed me. I am grateful to her. I am an actor, but I am not a part-time politician. I am here for serious business, I lost elections but I didn’t not run away or vanish. I joined Trinamool to be with people,” Saayoni said after her name was announced for the post of national president of the Trinamool’s youth wing.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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