Pranab’s son Abhijit returns to Congress

Abhijit Mukherjee, son of former President Pranab Mukherjee, returned to the Congress after a short stint with the Trinamool Congress.

Abhijit formally rejoined the party in Kolkata on Wednesday in the presence of AICC in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir and other state leaders. He had won the 2012 Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency byelection by 2,536 votes, defeating his nearest CPM rival Muzaffar Hussain after a tough fight. The seat was vacated by his late father, Pranab Mukherjee, after he was elected the President.

Abhijit was re-elected to the Lok Sabha from Jangipur in 2014. He lost the 2019 election to TMC candidate Khalilur Rahaman. His return to the Congress comes just weeks after his sister, Sharmistha Mukherjee, criticised the Congress and its leaders.

In December last year, Sharmistha, a former Congress member, had criticised the party for demanding a separate memorial space for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh while “failing to convene a working committee meeting to condole her father's death”.