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Journalism of Courage
With just a few days left before she takes charge as the new West Bengal Chief Minister,Mamata Banerjee,who was elected leader of the Trinamool Congress Legislature Party today,is giving the final touches to picking her three-tier core team of trusted lieutenants in the state government,central government and party organisation.
At the party meeting today,Partha Chatterjee was elected the deputy leader of the Trinamool Congress Legislature Party,Sovandev Chattopadhyay,an old trade union leader,was made chief whip and Jyotipriyo Mullick was picked as Treasurer in the new Assembly.
While she was expected to keep the Home and Industry departments,Health is one area in which she feels there is scope for improvement. Highly-placed sources said the reason for retaining the education department was to ensure control over the recruitment process a large number of teachers are set to be hired shortly. She is likely to have a strong team heading the CMO.
The outgoing Left Front government was hugely oversized,with as many as 42 departments to accommodate all the allies. According to sources,the Trinamool Congress-Congess alliance government could limit its ministries to less than half.
Among the Trinamool leaders who are likely to get Cabinet berths are former Kolkata mayor Subrata Mukherjee,fomer FICCI secretary general Amit Mitra,former councillor Firad Hakim and intellectual Bratya Basu.
But who she picks to represent the different regions,castes and communities remains to be seen. She is also reported to be looking for young Muslim women to be inducted into the ministry. Firdoussi Begum from Sonarpur South constituency could be among the probables. With the TMC-Congress combine making considerable gains in Junglemahal,there may be some ministers from the region too.
At the Centre,all eyes are on who Didi will pick to replace her in the Railway Ministry. The name doing the rounds is Mukul Roy who is the Minister of State for Shipping at present. The TMC may ask for an additional portfolio to accommodate Sudip Bandopadhyay who had been waiting in the wings for long.
What is really hanging fire is the fate of the bureaucracy. While Samar Ghosh,the present Chief Secretary,maintained that the bureaucracy stays and continues even in case of a regime change,he admitted that every ministry wants to have its own team.
Among the many names doing the rounds is that of Jawahar Sircar,IAS,Secretary in the Union Culture Ministry at present. While he has served in different capacities in the Bengal government,he was reportedly never taken into confidence by the Left Front because of his earlier stint as Secretary to Congress leader Priya Ranjan Das Munshi. Sanjay Mitra,another IAS of Bengal cadre,who has been with the Centre for quite some time now,may also return to the state.
Meanwhile,those closely associated with the Left regime are looking at other options. Like a top IAS officer who has been shuttling frantically between Kolkata and Delhi over the past weeks. A member of outgoing chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjees inner circle,he said that besides a central posting,he is looking at other options as well.
