KOLKATA: Marking his political comeback after seven years, former Kolkata mayor and cabinet minister Sovan Chatterjee has been appointed chairperson of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government. The move is seen as a major step towards his rehabilitation within the party he quit in 2018 before briefly joining the BJP.
Chatterjee, once a trusted aide of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, becomes the first non-bureaucrat to head NKDA since its formation in 2009. His appointment, notified by the urban development department “in public interest,” came just two days after a private meeting with the CM in Darjeeling’s Richmond Hill. Earlier, on September 25, Chatterjee and his partner Baisakhi Banerjee had also met TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata.
Speaking to a Bengali news channel, Chatterjee said he had no prior knowledge of his appointment. “When Mamata di makes a decision, everyone comes to know. I, too, learned about it like others,” he said. On whether this marks his formal return to the Trinamool fold, he added, “When that happens, people will know.”
Chatterjee said he would focus on New Town’s “overall development,” adding, “If Mamata di trusts me, I will work with complete sincerity. New Town is still a new city, and there’s a lot to be done.”
Party insiders view the move as politically significant. Since Chatterjee resigned as Kolkata’s mayor following a fallout with the leadership, Firhad Hakim has led the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and also heads the urban development department, which oversees NKDA. Chatterjee’s return could shift local power equations, particularly in the Behala–Tollygunge–Maheshtala belt — his former stronghold.
Chatterjee’s wife Ratna Chatterjee currently represents Behala (East) as a Trinamool MLA, a seat he won in 2011 and 2016. Her father Dulal Das, in his 80s, is Trinamool MLA from Maheshtala and chairs the local municipality. Party leaders say his return may also influence the search for a new candidate in Behala (West), the seat held by jailed former minister Partha Chatterjee.
Sovan Chatterjee and Baisakhi Banerjee had joined the BJP in 2019 but left soon after the 2021 assembly elections, following internal differences and their exclusion from the party’s candidate list.
