Mamata Banerjee reshuffles Bengal cabinet after poll drubbing

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made major changes in her cabinet on Tuesday following the drubbing her party, Trinamool Congress, received in the Lok Sabha elections.

Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikary was entrusted with two more departments of Irrigation and the Water Resources Investigation and Development (WRI&D), she told reporters at the state secretariat.

Bratya Basu has been given additional charge of the Forest Department along with his portfolio of the Science and Technology and Biotechnology Department, Banerjee said.

Minister for Fire Department Sujit Bose was made the Minister of State of the Forest Department.

Somen Mahapatra, who was the Minister for Water Resources Investigation & Development, was given the charges of Environment and Pollution and the Public Health Engineering Department (PHE), she said.

Malay Ghatak will now look after the Labour and Law department, the chief minister said.

Rajib Banerjee, who was in-charge of the Backward Class Welfare Department, will also look after the SC, ST and the Tribal Affairs Department, Banerjee said.

Senior TMC leader Subrata Mukherjee, who lost to BJP's Subhas Sarkar in the Bankura Lok Sabha seat, was retained as Panchayat Minister.

Chandrima Bhattacharyya, who was the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing, was also given the additional responsibility as Minister of State for Panchayat Department.

Former Forest Department Minister Binay Krishna Barman and Western Region Development Minister Shantiram Mahato were kept as ministers without any portfolio, she said.

The reshuffle comes amid a stupendous performance of the BJP in West Bengal, where it won 18 Lok Sabha seats, only four less than Banerjee's TMC out of the total 42 parliamentary constituencies in the state.