Mamata meets Sonia today on government formation

Elected Trinamool Congress legislative party leader.

The Trinamool Congress legislative party today expectedly elected Mamata Banerjee as its leader here today. Late evening, Banerjee flew down to New Delhi to hold parleys with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Top Congress sources told Business Standard that the Congress would join Banerjee’s Cabinet in West Bengal. Banerjee will meet PM and Gandhi tomorrow to discuss, among other things, the railway ministry portfolio.

“The railway ministry was allotted to our party. it should remain with us,” she told Business Standard after arriving in the national capital tonight.

The sources added that Mukul Roy, Trinamool Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP, was likely to become the railway minister. Roy is currently the minister of state for shipping.

The Trinamool Congress chief is not likely to resign from the Cabinet tomorrow. Banerjee has decided to tender her resignation from the Cabinet a day before she takes oath in Bengal. Banerjee today said she would form a very small Cabinet.

The Trinamool leadership has apprised Governor M K Narayanan about the party’s election of Banerjee as its leader in the state Assembly. Banerjee initially wanted to take oath, but she may reschedule it to ensure the presence of the Congress president and the Prime Minister, if they can’t come to Kolkata on Wednesday.

Trinamool Congress sources say the Congress can get portfolios proportionate to their strength in the House. Banerjee has not yet indicated about her choice of ministers in the party circle. According to a senior Trinamool Congress leaders who does not want to be named, Banerjee herself is preparing the list. Sources say Amit Mitra’s inclusion in the list as the finance minister is almost certain.

Apart from Banerjee’s election as leader of the Trinamool legislative party, Partha Chatterjee was chosen as the deputy leader and Shovandeb Chatterjee as the chief whip. Veteran lawyer and MLA Biman Banerjee and Karim Chowdhury, a seven-time MLA, are being considered for the post of Speaker.

Some of the names doing the rounds are Subrata Mukherjee, Goutam Deb, Partha Chatterjee, Nure Alam Choudhury, Firhad Hakim and Sukumar Hansda. There are five retired police officers in the legislative party, of which only H A Safwi’s name might figure in the final list.

From the Congress, senior leader in North Bengal, Debprasad Roy and newcomer Abhijit Mukherjee (Union finance minister’s son) are favoured names. Besides, Ajoy Dey from Nadia is a strong candidate. Since the Congress has done well in Murshidabad and Malda, these two districts might find representation in the ministry.