Kalyan Banerjee returns as Lok Sabha chief whip

Kalyan Banerjee (Photo/PTI)

New Delhi: Former Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee Kalyan Banerjee was appointed as the new Chief Whip on Thursday Trinamool Congress Kakali Ghosh replaced Dastidar in the Lok Sabha. The announcement was made during an internal meeting of party MPs held at Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat as the party leadership sought to regroup after the recent electoral debacle in West Bengal. Kalyan Banerjee, who was earlier ousted amid a party tussle last year after a public spat with Krishnanagar MP Mahua Maitra, has now been brought back at a time when TMC Trying to fix its organization and parliamentary strategy.Party insiders saw the reshuffle as a signal that the leadership values ​​political aggression and loyalty in tough times. In recent months, Kalyan Banerjee has emerged as the party’s most vocal legal and political face, actively defending the TMC in court battles and public clashes during elections.While the party retained Abhishek Banerjee as party leader and Shatabdi Roy as deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, the return of Kalyan Banerjee was considered the most important organizational decision taken in the meeting.According to party sources, the Kalighat meeting had the feel of a restructuring exercise after the party’s defeat, with discussions on maintaining unity and rebuilding morale among MPs and workers, PTI reported.Many leaders are said to have seen the move as a recognition of Kalyan Banerjee’s aggressive role in defending the party politically and legally. “Leadership values ​​those who stand and fight in tough times,” said a senior TMC MP after the meeting.During the meeting, Mamata Banerjee urged MPs to stay connected to their constituencies and maintain coordination with the local leadership as the party tries to recover from one of its toughest political phases in years.Addressing MPs, Abhishek Banerjee alleged that the TMC fought not only against the BJP but against the ‘whole machinery’ deployed by the saffron party during the elections. He claimed that there were irregularities during counting and alleged that TMC counting agents faced restrictions at several centres.Later, TMC MP Saini Ghosh struck a defiant note, claiming that the party is not afraid of disaster.“TMC is not among those who are afraid or those who back down. Mamata Banerjee is a lioness, a warrior — she has been and will be. This vote is not a people’s mandate. The people of West Bengal did not want to remove Mamata Banerjee’s government,” he said.