Spiced up by the stupendous majority with which the Trinamool Congress has roared back to power in the recently concluded Assembly elections, Mamata Banerjee is planning to bring in fresh faces to replace tainted names in her new Cabinet inside sources said.
The TMC has notched up 211 out of 294 seats while the Congress and left have bagged 44 and 33 each. BJP has won 3 seats and GJM 3. In an
apparent bid to clean up the party’s imag blemished by Sharada, Narada, SGDA, Trident and other scams Banerjee may drop some her Ministers and shift others to lesser portfolios, a senior leader said.
According to sources, Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim may not get back his old Ministry, while Cabinet berth for Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee who also seen taking bribe in the Narada video footage may also get deferred for a while.
The CM will take oath on May 27. The only exception could be Panchayat and Irrigation Minister Subroto Mukherjee who may once again get his original portfolio despite his alleged involvement in the Narada scam. Mukherjee had done “an excellent job in 100-days’ work scheme which brought the Trinamool its bulk of votes” so he will not be deprived of his place.
Party MP and Banerjee’s Nandigram spearhead Suvendu Adhikary who was brought back to the State politics and won the Nandigram Assembly seat this time round is also likely to get an important portfolio despite his appearance in the Narada footage, sources said adding the Chief Minister “will take a decision later if the lok Sabha ethics committee finds any truth in the sting video.”
The new faces who may get Cabinet berth are Forward Bloc turncoat Udayan Guha who is likely to get inducted as the North Bengal Development Minister. Former Chief Whip and a man known for his integrity Sobhandeb Chattopadhayay is likely to get the law Ministry, sources said.
Bratya Basu a former Education Minister is likely to get the Information and Culture portfolio while senior leader and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partho Chatterjee may get back his Industry port folio after even Finance Minister Amit Mitra who had replaced Chatterjee to handle Industry as the additional charge also failed miserable to bring investment.
Meanwhile, the Congress and the left on Tuesday decided to boycott the swearing-in ceremony on May 27. Both the parties have decided to hold a rally at Esplanade in Kolkata to protest against the ongoing violence in the State.
“How can we take part in the swearing-in when our men are being attacked their properties and party offices looted and torched, their women raped” Adhir Chowdhury Pradesh Congress president asked.