North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb has been removed from the post of Trinamul Congress’ Darjeeling district president.
North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb has been removed from the post of Trinamul Congress’ Darjeeling district president. Young TMC councillor from Siliguri Municipal Corporation Ranjan Sarkar, popularly known as Rana, has been appointed as new Trinamul Darjeeling district president.
Chief minister and party chief Mamata Banerjee took the decision during her just-concluded five-day visit to North Bengal. Mr Deb’s removal did not come as surprise because it was an open secret that Ms Banerjee was extremely unhappy with him after the ruling party’s successive losses in Siliguri. In April, the Trinamul Congress suffered a major setback when CPI(M) won Siliguri Municipal Corporation election by projecting veteran CPI(M) leader Ashok Bhattacharya. Ms Banerjee was very upset by this loss because she was very keen that TMC won Siliguri Municipal Corporation. In June, Mr Deb was removed from the post of chairman of North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC).
Trinamul Congress’ defeat in Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad election sealed Mr Deb’s fate. Trinamul insiders said that Ms Banerjee’s to sack him from Darjeeling district chief’s post was also prompted by complaints from a large section of disgruntled party workers who were unhappy with Ms Deb’s style of functioning. “Didi is very keen on consolidating her party’s position in North Bengal ahead of the 2016 Assembly election. Gautam da’s removal should be seen as the first step in this direction,” a party MP said.
