Veteran’s comeback resets TMC equations

KOLKATA: The return of Sovan Chatterjee, former Kolkata mayor and once-disgraced Trinamool Congress heavyweight, has stirred the calm within Bengal's ruling party. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's decision to appoint him as Chairman of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) a top civic post overseeing the fast-growing township has triggered admiration, intrigue, and quiet unease within the Trinamool Congress (TMC). 

The appointment, announced barely 48 hours after Chatterjee's private two-hour meeting with Mamata Banerjee in Darjeeling, is being viewed as a politically loaded act a blend of reconciliation, retribution, and recalibration. For many within the TMC, it signals the rehabilitation of an old loyalist. It is also a veiled warning to Firhad Hakim, the current Kolkata Mayor and senior Urban Development Minister, long perceived as one of Mamata's most powerful lieutenants and the party's Muslim face. 

A comeback seven years in the making Chatterjee, now 61, had vacated his dual ministries and the mayoralty of Kolkata in November 2018, after Mamata reportedly rebuked him for neglecting governance amid highly publicized personal issues. Months later, he crossed over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019, only to quit two years later after fail ing to secure a ticket from his stronghold in Behala Purba, which he had represented as a TMC MLA from 2011 to 2016.

Long estranged from Mamata, Chatterjee's gradual re-entry began some weeks ago when he met Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, in Kolkata. The final scene played out this week in Darjeeling, where he met the Chief Minister as she oversaw relief work following devastating floods.

"Didi did not tell me any thing about this past. I was as surprised as everyone else," he modestly told reporters, adding, "I will carry out this job with sincere dedication." Few in the party believe the move was spontaneous.

"Mamata di has restored faith in a soldier who knows the battleground better than anyone else," a senior TMC functionary remarked. "It's her way of balancing power in Kolkata."

Chatterjee replaced former chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay, until now the Chief Minister's chief advisor, as head of NKDA. The announcement, a Raj Bhavan notification stated, was effective "till further orders" and issued "in pub lic interest." Significantly, he becomes the first non bureaucrat to hold the post since NKDA's inception in 2009.

For observers, Chatterjee's comeback represents the return of Mamata's old guard. During her early years in power, Chatterjee spearheaded the Kolkata Municipal Corporation's modernization drive and was her key urban strategist. His downfall following the Naradasting case arrests in 2021 and sensational personal disputes had effectively erased him from the Trinamool's core circle. 

Political sociologist Dr. Indrajit Roy sees irony in Chatterjee's revival: "By reinstating Sovan, Mamata has turned a page in political forgiveness but it's also a coded message to others that patronage can be withdrawn as easily as it is restored. This appointment isn't about hostalgia, it's about control."

Inside the party, many read Mamata's move as a quiet clip at Firhad Hakim's wings. The urban ministries he leads also oversee NKDA's functioning, effectively placing Chatterjee under Hakim's domain. Insiders say it is no coincidence. "The Chief Minister has tactically placed a seasoned hand inside Hakim's turf," said a bureaucrat. "It's a reminder that no one owns the Kolkata municipality."

"Hakim's dominance in the city is being tested," said Meenakshi Ray Choudhury, a political commentator. "So van's induction under the CM's benevolent watch is a polite warning. Hakim once towered as the only power in Kolkata whom neither Didi nor Abhishek could fully control. That equation is visibly changing."

While Mamata retains the ultimate authority, Abhishek Banerjee's shadow over this move is unmistakable. The tension between Hakim and Abhishek Banerjee has grown sharper over the past year. In late 2024, Abhishek's office had filed a police complaint against Hakim's officer-on-special duty for alleged misuse of his name, embarrassing the mayor publicly. Since then, the relationship between the Mayor's office and Abhishek's camp have been uneasy.