Aveek Sarkar, editor-in-chief of ABP Group, steps down

His brother Arup Sarkar will take over; spat with Mamata Banerjee touted as the reason for his decision

Aveek Sarkar has stepped down as editor-in-chief of the ABP Group after leading it for more than three decades. Sarkar will slip into the role of vice-chairman and editor emeritus. His brother, Arup Sarkar, the editor of the group’s Bengali magazines, will take charge as editor-in-chief.

A communication to employees said Aveek Sarkar would continue to oversee digital initiatives of the ABP group and continue to support the news operations of the group.

The changes — ostensibly a part of streamlining news operations — would be with immediate effect.

As news of Sarkar’s resignation broke, Twitter was abuzz with theories. Primary among which was that the spat with state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was one reason.

Within minutes, Trinamool’s Chief National Spokesperson Derek O’ Brien uploaded a letter written to Aveek Sarkar in 2015 titled Time I stopped writing columns for ABP/The Telegraph. The moot point was ABP Group’s prejudices were making it impossible for him to continue.

Banerjee had publicly declared Aveek Sarkar and the ABP Group as one of the ‘destructive’ forces in Bengal. In the run-up to the elections, the Trinamool Congress chief had, in fact, projected ABP as the fourth opponent alongside the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

“They — CPI(M), Congress, BJP and ABP — have been continuously complaining about the elections. I will give them a lollipop and a pillow after the elections,” she had said at a rally.

The tirade continued well after the elections. Observers said the spat had affected the group’s revenues to an extent as it had not been getting state government advertisements for a while.

The Banerjee-ABP equation wasn’t always like this. In the run-up to the Assembly elections of 2011, she was a clear favourite. The same year Banerjee was awarded the Sherar Shera Bangali or Bengali-of-the-year by the group’s Bengali news channel, ABP Ananda.