Sovan set for a new role?

KOLKATA: Is mayor Sovan Chatterjee set for a new role? The possibility seems likely, if chief minister Mamata Banerjee decides to go for for a modest cabinet rejig in the days to come.
This has been the buzz in Trinamool Congress circles because of the way the mayor accompanies the CM to places, at the cost of his Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) assignment.
There are takers of this guessing game."Didi relies much on Sovanda in matters of governance. He has an uncanny knack for reading her mind, sorting out tricky issues and is capable of executing the most complex project. But as the chief minister of a democratically elected government, Didi is answerable to the opposition. Inducting Sovanda into the Cabinet would resolve the issue," confided a source.
However, a senior Trinamool minister preferred not to read much into Sovan's accompanying Mamata. "As far as I know the initiative is from the mayor's end. The CM is yet to take a call on this issue. It goes without saying that Sovan is close to Mamata who calls him by his nickname Kanan. But there are reasons for not taking him in the cabinet, too," said the leader.
In fact, Sovan's performance as mayor is not above question. The opposition, namely the CPM, will launch an agitation against the mayor anytime soon. In two meetings at SN Banerjee Road, the opposition Left has shouted itself hoarse over Chatterjee's wildly variable presence at the civic headquarters. They have planned an agitation after Diwali as files pile up in the absence of the mayor, affecting administrative work in KMC.
While Kolkata's first citizen was conspicuous by his absence at KMC, CPM councillors went into a huddle chalking out elaborate agitations against his compulsions to accompany the CM ever since she took over the reigns of Writers' on May 20.
Sovan's detractors in the party feel that Didi may make changes in the KMC if Sovan turns into a liability.
Given the mayor's proximity to Mamata, the CM might find a place for him in the cabinet. Asked to comment, the mayor said: "This is the first time I am hearing about it (being inducted into the state cabinet)."