India, June 11 -- Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra defended party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee against allegations of nepotism. While he initially benefited from his family connection to party chief Mamata Banerjee, he has since established himself through years of political and organisational work, Mahua told Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview.

The Lok Sabha MP acknowledged that Abhishek, who is former Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's nephew, received his first Lok Sabha ticket in 2014 because of that relationship but over the last 12 years has worked hard to justify his place in the party.

"Did Abhishek Banerjee get that first ticket in 2014 because he was Mamata Banerjee's nephew? Yes, he did. But has he...