'Chanakya' of Bengal politics

Political

'Chanakya' of Bengal politics Mukul Roy passed away

An era has come to an end in Bengal politics. Former Union Railway Minister Mukul Roy, one of the founding members of the Trinamool Congress, has passed away. His only son Subhrangshu Roy said that his father breathed his last at a private hospital in Kolkata at around 1:30 am on Sunday. He was 73 years old at the time of his death.

Mukul Roy had been suffering from various old-age related health problems and neurological diseases for the past few years. He had been undergoing treatment at that hospital on the bypass for a long time. Mukul Roy's death has created a huge void in the political arena of West Bengal. He was one of the founding members of the Trinamool Congress and a subtle strategist or 'Chanakya' of state politics. Mukul Roy also served as the Railway Minister of India. He was the All India General Secretary of Trinamool and after leaving the party and joining the BJP, he also served as the central vice-president of that party. Mukul Roy's death marked the end of an era in Bengali politics.

Mukul Roy was born in 1954 at Kanchrapara, North 24 Parganas.He obtained his BSc degree from Calcutta University. Later, he obtained his MA degree in Public Administration from Madurai University in 2006. He was a skilled organizer. He had an organizational network in almost every block of the state. In 2017, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, which had a major impact on Bengali politics. By joining the BJP, he put his long political and administrative experience in use. At that time, the party's All India General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya used Mukul Roy's skills to strengthen the organization in Bengal. Many consider the BJP's victory in West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to be the result of his organizational strategy.

Mukul Roy made his electoral debut in politics in 2001 by contesting the assembly elections as a Trinamool candidate from Jagaddal constituency. However, he could not win the election. In April 2006, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha and served as the party's leader in the Rajya Sabha for three years from 2009. During the UPA-2 government, he first served as the Minister of State for Shipping and later as the Minister of State for Railways. Mukul Roy took over as the Railway Minister in 2012 after Dinesh Trivedi resigned amid controversy over the announcement of fare hike in the railway budget. There was speculation in political circles that his distance from the BJP leadership was growing even before the 2021 assembly elections. He won from Krishnanagar North constituency. After the elections, he was unhappy with the announcement of Shuvendu Adhikari's name as the Leader of Opposition and has since returned to the Trinamool Congress from the BJP. Today top leaders form Trinamool Congress payes their last respect to Mukul Roy.