The demise of West Bengal minister Subrata Mukherjee is not only a personal loss for Mamata Banerjee as the Chief Minister expressed, but also an executive one as she now faces the task of picking a minister to handle the crucial Panchayat portfolio.
And Mukherjee’s big shoes are not easy to fill. He was the only minister with prior experience when Mamata Banerjee first came to power in 2011. The following year, she entrusted the Panchayat department to him. It is this department that deals with developmental works and welfare schemes. And Mukherjee’s performance in the role is believed to have played a huge role in endearing the Mamata Banerjee government to the public.
From Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana to Anandadhara, the National Rural Livelihoods Mission under the Ministry of Rural Development, under Mukherjee’s watch as Panchayat minister, Bengal excelled on several counts. He was even felicitated in the US for the project to strengthen gram panchayats with World Bank aid.
“His experience really helped us. He was the right team leader who gave us a free hand everywhere and understood the nitty-gritties of this department,” said a former bureaucrat who had worked with Subrata Mukherjee.
Apart from the Panchayat portfolio, Mamata Banerjee has another vacancy to fill, that of the state’s finance minister since incumbent Amit Mitra did not contest elections this time and must step down now.
It remains to be seen if Mamata herself takes the two portfolios under her or if she taps experienced leaders for a cabinet call-up. As per sources, one of the names doing the rounds for both portfolios is Chandrima Bhattacharya, who has held Panchayat portfolio in the past.
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