Mridul Goswami, an old hand of Trinamul Congress, has been replaced by BJP turncoat Ganga Prasad Sharma as the new chairperson of Alipurduar Trinamul district committee.

Prakash Chik Baraik, the Rajya Sabha member of the party, has, however, retained the post of the district president.

Party insiders maintained Goswami and Baraik were not on the best of terms. Sources said Goswami had expressed his dissatisfaction over Baraik’s way of handing in some party forums.

Many expressed surprise at this change.

“Mridul Goswami has been in Trinamul since 1996 and shares a cordial relationship with Mamata Banerjee from the day the party was formed,” said a party leader.

Sharma, who was the district chief of the BJP, joined Trinamul after the Assembly elections in 2021.

“During the 2021 poll,the BJP had bagged all thefive Assembly seats fromthe district and Trinamul believed Sharma was instrumental in the BJP’s win in Alipurduar district,” said a source.

Since then, Sharma was immediately made the chairman of the Jaigaon Development Authority (JAD) and almost given a free hand to strengthen Trinamul’s presence in Alipurduar district, a region known for its tea belt, said a party source.

On Monday, when asked about his new role, Sharma said: “I am ready to discharge any responsibility given by the party leadership.”

Contacted, Goswami also said he had no protest to make over the party’s decision to replace him with Sharma.

“I can just say that since the first day of the party I have worked for the betterment of the party and I will continue to do the same in the days to come. I have never protested the party’s decision and this time it is no different,” said Goswami.