TMC appoints Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as party chief in LS

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar has been appointed as the party’s chief whip in Lok Sabha and Satabdi Roy as the deputy leader in the lower House.

Kalyan Banerjee on Monday announced his resignation as the TMC’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, citing internal discord and lack of coordination among MPs.

“Kalyan Banerjee submitted his resignation yesterday to the chairperson from the post of Chief Whip of the TMC Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha. The chairperson has nominated Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as the new Chief Whip of the party in the Lok Sabha and Satabdi Roy as the new Deputy Leader of TMC in the Lok Sabha with immediate effect,” Trinamool Congress said on X.

The decision came shortly after the party supremo, Mamata Banerjee held a virtual meeting of Trinamool Congress MPs, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. “Didi pointed out a lack of coordination among MPs. So, the blame is on me. I’ve decided to step down,” Kalyan Banerjee told a news channel.

Incidentally, Kalyan Banerjee’s resignation as the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha came amid growing tensions with fellow party MP Mahua Moitra.

Their frequent disagreements, along with a recent public spat involving former cricketer and Trinamool Congress MP Kirti Azad, had reportedly caused discomfort within the party leadership.

In another significant development, signalling a generational shift in the party’s parliamentary leadership and a renewed focus on youth-driven politics ahead of the 2026 Bengal Assembly polls, Trinamool appointed its national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee as the party’s new leader in the Lok Sabha.

Banerjee, the three-time MP, has taken over from veteran Kolkata Uttar parliamentarian Sudip Bandopadhyay, who stepped down owing to health issues, according to party sources.