Kolkata: A dissident bloc within the Trinamool Congress has announced that Mamata Banerjee has been removed from the party’s top post and that a new national executive has been constituted.
The development comes in the backdrop of a split in the party following its defeat in the previous Assembly election. The report said several functionaries quit amid discontent linked to Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee.
The dissident group is led by Rithaprata Banerjee, who was earlier expelled from the party by Mamata Banerjee. The group is said to include key office-bearers and around 60 MLAs, and a meeting of dissident legislators was held on Sunday.
At the meeting, Howrah Central MLA Arup Roy was named as the new party leader. Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Ratan Ghosh and Sabina Yasmin were appointed as vice-presidents.
Rithaprata Banerjee, Javed Khan and Sandeepan Saha were named as general secretaries, while Ansari was given the treasurer’s responsibility, the report added.
