Calcutta, Oct. 3: Mamata Banerjee today shifted Indranil Sen, her deputy in the information and cultural affairs department, as junior minister in the tourism department in a transfer being described as "a little surprising" by some officials in Nabanna.

Sen, once close to former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, joined Trinamul in 2012. Rising through the ranks, the singer-politician became a member of Mamata's culture clan and was often seen on the dais with her in government and party programmes.

Sources said Sen was not only close to Mamata but also her nephew Abhishek.

After unsuccessfully contesting the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Behrampore against Congress heavyweight Adhir Chowdhury, Sen won the Assembly elections from Chandernagore this year and was inducted into the cabinet.

"Indranil Sen had almost become the chief minister's pointsman in everything related to information and cultural affairs.... He has been a constant companion in her district tours. He's also close to Abhishek. That's why the transfer looks a little surprising," a Nabanna official said.

Sen will take charge from Golam Rabbani, who was brought to the panchayat and rural development department.

Although the government officially described the transfers as routine, sources in the state secretariat said several Trinamul leaders were not happy with Sen's rise across the ranks and his proximity to the chief minister.

"A first-time MLA is usually not given a ministerial berth. But Sen was an exception and was made the junior minister in the information and cultural affairs department. It did not go down well with some people," an official said.

The official added: "He dissolved several committees that were managing government halls across the state and set up new panels where government officials were given more importance than party leaders. Earlier, the halls were managed by members of Mamata's culture clan, but Sen changed it all."

Another reason cited by some officials for Sen's transfer was his "active" participation in renovating Nandan.

"The public works department had started the ground work for the renovation of Nandan, the cultural hub of Calcutta. Sen was actively involved in the project. As other members of the chief minister's culture clan were not involved, they were not happy," said another source.

Asked about his transfer, Sen said: "I have travelled across the state, the country.... I also had the opportunity to travel across the world. Tourism is a focus area of the government. It may be that the chief minister wants to use my expertise in the tourism sector.... Besides, Goutam da (Deb, the tourism minister) is an efficient politician and I think we will gel as a team."