Kolkata, February 12: Abhijit Mukherjee, son of former President of India late Pranab Mukherjee, has returned to the Congress, rejoining the party on Wednesday, February 12, after a short tenure with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC). Mukherjee formally re-entered the Congress fold in Kolkata, in the presence of AICC in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir and other state leaders.
“Abhijit Mukherjee had been in touch with the party leadership and state PCC for the past year. Today, it has been decided that he will rejoin Congress,” Mir stated earlier in the day.
Following the demise of his father in 2020, both Abhijit and his sister, Sharmistha Mukherjee, parted ways with the Congress. Abhijit later joined the TMC in July 2021, shortly after Mamata Banerjee secured a third consecutive term in West Bengal. Sharmistha, however, withdrew from active politics in September 2021. Though she did not align with any political party, she has publicly criticized the Congress on several occasions.
Abhijit had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Jangipur but was defeated by TMC candidate Khalilur Rahaman. Reflecting on his political journey, he previously mentioned feeling sidelined within Congress. “For two-and-a-half years, I carried out every assignment given to me by the party, but I was gradually marginalized by a particular person, a particular group. Meanwhile, Mamata Didi reached out, and after a discussion, I decided to join TMC,” he had stated.
With his return to Congress, it remains to be seen how Mukherjee will contribute to the party’s strategy in West Bengal.
