PANAJI: Trinamool Congress overhauled its Goa unit on Wednesday by replacing Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra as the party’s state unit in-charge with cricketer-turned politician Kirti Azad — a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team who switched from Congress to TMC last year. Azad was earlier a BJP MP from Bihar.
TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee made the announcement, a week after it was said that changes would be carried out in the Goa unit that has been seeing a steady exodus of functionaries since the party drew a blank in the 2022 assembly elections.
Moitra was made state in charge last November and she had the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev and former MLA Sourav Chakraborty as co-in charges. The party tried Goa as a stepping stone to expand its national footprint but couldn’t win a single seat. Immediately after the results on March 10, many TMC office-bearers and candidates exited the party, including its state president Kiran Kandolkar. TMC then dissolved its Goa unit and announced an overhaul.