Trinamool Congress has appointed Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. Chattopadhyay, a veteran party leader, won from the Ballygunge Assembly constituency in south Kolkata this time. The announcement was made by Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s General Secretary and Lok Sabha member.
Incidentally, Suvendu Adhikari, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, is the Leader of the House. Adhikari, sworn in as the ninth Chief Minister of West Bengal, leads the first Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government in the state since Independence. Chattopadhyay previously held positions as the state Agriculture Minister and Parliamentary Affairs Minister in the last Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal Cabinet.
Trinamool Congress also named two women as Deputy Leaders of the Opposition. Nayna Bandyopadhyay, an actress-turned-politician and legislator from Chowringhee Assembly constituency, is one of them. The second Deputy Leader of the Opposition is Asima Patra, the party’s elected legislator from Dhaniakhali Assembly constituency in Hooghly district. Firhad Hakim, popularly known as Bobby and the Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, has been appointed as the Chief Whip of the Trinamool Congress legislative party in the West Bengal Assembly.
