Senior politician and former Union railway minister Mukul Roy, once considered West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s closest aide and a key strategist of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), passed away early Monday following a cardiac arrest. He was 71.
Roy breathed his last around 1.30 am at a private hospital in Salt Lake, his son Subhranshu Roy confirmed.
Family members said Roy had been battling multiple health complications over the past two years. He had also been diagnosed with dementia and had recently slipped into a coma.
A four-decade political journey
Roy’s political career spanned over four decades and included stints in the Congress, the TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He began his political journey with the Youth Congress before joining Banerjee when she broke away from the Congress to form the TMC in 1998.
As a founding member, Roy quickly emerged as one of the party’s key organisational architects and later served as its general secretary. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2006 and became the TMC’s leader in the Upper House in 2009, earning a reputation as the party’s chief troubleshooter in New Delhi.
During the UPA-II government, when the TMC was part of the ruling coalition, Roy served first as Minister of State for Shipping and later as Union railway minister in 2012.
Master strategist of Bengal politics
Often described as the “Chanakya” of West Bengal politics, Roy was widely known for his backroom organisational skills.
Following the TMC’s landmark victory in the 2011 Assembly elections that ended 34 years of Left Front rule, he played a crucial role in consolidating the party’s dominance across several districts by strengthening its organisational base.
However, his political career also faced controversies, including his alleged links to the Saradha chit fund case and the Narada sting operation.
Political shifts and return
Relations between Roy and the TMC leadership deteriorated in 2017, prompting him to join the Bharatiya Janata Party. Tasked with expanding the BJP’s presence in West Bengal, he was credited with helping the party grow significantly ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when it won 18 of the state’s 42 seats.
Roy was elected as a BJP MLA from Krishnanagar Uttar in the 2021 Assembly elections but returned to the TMC within months, triggering legal and political wrangling. A court later disqualified him as an MLA under the anti-defection law.
Although he rejoined the TMC, Roy never regained the political prominence he once held and gradually withdrew from active politics as his health declined
