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Former Bengal minister Amit Mitra appointed principal chief advisor to Mamata Banerjee, state finance dept
Amit Mitra did not contest the assembly elections but was sworn-in as the finance minister for the third consecutive term in May this year
Former West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra has been appointed as the principal chief advisor to chief minister Mamata Banerjee and the finance department, the state government announced on Tuesday.
The six-month tenure of Mitra as the finance minister came to an end last week and since he did not contest the bypolls his department went under the control of the chief minister. An economist by profession, Mitra expressed his inability to continue as the finance minister owing to his fragile health.
Mitra did not contest the assembly elections but was sworn-in as the finance minister for the third consecutive term in May this year, when the Trinamool Congress formed the government in Bengal. He was handpicked by Banerjee who had prepared a list of 24 cabinet ministers and 19 ministers of state after the elections.
Mitra, a former secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), contested and won the assembly elections from Khardah in North 24 Parganas for two consecutive terms. “With the party winning 213 seats in May, Mitra could have contested and emerged as a winner from any seat, including Khardah which he earlier held. Mamata Banerjee, too, had to contest again from Bhabanipur constituency in September, as she lost from Nandigram in East Midnapore district. Finding two seats for them is not a big issue,” a top TMC leader told HT after the elections concluded.
Banerjee holds the portfolios of finance, home, health, personnel and administrative reforms. In the latest reshuffle Chandrima Bhattacharya was appointed the minister of state for finance, and Pulak Roy was appointed as the new panchayat and rural development minister after the death of Trinamool Congress veteran Subrata Mukherjee.
Manas Bhuiya, the state water resource development minister, was also given the additional charge of consumer affairs, which was under veteran leader Sadhan Pande, who is currently undergoing treatment for an ailment in Mumbai.
