Mukul Roy, Key Architect of TMC, Dies at 71

Kolkata: Veteran politician and ex Union minister Mukul Roy, who was one of the key architects of Trinamool Congress (TMC) died in the early hours of Monday in a privately owned hospital in Kolkata. He was 71.

Roy had been suffering a number of health complications over the years such as Parkinson disease. His son, Subhranshu Roy, stated that he had gone through three operations and spent over two years staying at the hospital before going into coma.

Being a master strategist who was reputed to have developed the electoral machineries of the TMC, Roy was known to be one of the greatest political organisers in West Bengal. Being close to the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and playing behind-the-scenes in the development of the growth of the party led him to the status of the 'Chanakya of Bengal politics'.

Condolences started flowing across the party lines shortly after the demise news was announced. Mamata Banerjee termed him as a long time co-worker and a co-fighter in political battles. She recognised his role in the formation of the TMC and pointed out his years as a Union minister that his organisational abilities and contribution to the political life of Bengal were to be remembered regardless of the party affiliations.

Abhishek Banerjee, the national general secretary of TMC called the death of Roy a culmination of an era in the politics of the state. He gave Roy a decisive role in reinforcing the party in its formative years and propelling it to its historic Assembly win in 2011 that put an end to the 34-year tenure of the Left Front in the state.

BJP senior leader Suvendu Adhikari was also mourning, offering condolences to the family of Roy, and recalled him as a long term political leader.

Roy started his political career in the Youth Congress and later went on to become a key figure in the TMC after its formation. He was the general secretary of the party and he was reputed to be brash in politics and organisational richness. The contribution he made towards the 2011 success of the TMC is one of the instances that made his career.

In the national context, Roy was a Minister of State in the Shipping and later held the portfolio of Railway Minister for a brief time during the second term of the United Progressive Alliance, led by Congress party, between 2009 and 2014.

Nevertheless, there were dramatic shifts in his political career. His name came in the news in the Narada sting operation in 2016. The next year he resigned the Rajya Sabha and also left the TMC, after being suspended on grounds of anti-party activities. He later took membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party and became it national vice-president.

In another significant shift, Roy began serving again in the TMC in 2021, having been elected to the West Bengal Assembly on a BJP ticket. His change brought about a legal and political controversy and he was disqualified as an MLA by the Calcutta high court - a move that the Supreme Court stayed.

The political career of Mukul Roy, full of loyalty, disloyalty and revival was a reflection of the tumultuous Bengal politics itself. His death leaves the state without a tactician whose role went much beyond the front lines and penetrated into the processes of power.

ALSO READ: “What Kind of Culture Are We Developing?” Supreme Court Slams Freebies Culture