5 min readKolkataMay 30, 2024 09:02 AM IST
First published on: May 29, 2024 at 08:00 AM IST
One of the most senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs, Saugata Roy is contesting this time from the Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency that he has represented since 2009. The 76-year-old physics professor started his political career in the Congress, winning the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat in the post-Emergency election in 1977. Two years later, the 32-year-old was appointed a Union Minister of State in the 1979-’80 Chaudhury Charan Singh government. He switched from the Congress to the TMC in 2001 and was elected to the state Assembly from Dhakuria. From 2009 to 2012, Roy served in the UPA-2 government led by Manmohan Singh. In an interview with Ravik Bhattacharya & Atri Mitra, Roy speaks about his assessment of the elections, the INDIA alliance, corruption as a poll issue, and his own poll battle. Excerpts:
What is your reading of how the Lok Sabha polls have gone till now?
This is an election that will determine many things. The present government at the Centre is displaying authoritarian tendencies. The media is among the institutions affected. Modi has pursued a communal agenda during the campaign. The INDIA alliance has not yet come together but a situation may be thrown up where there is a (need for a) positive alternative to the present.
What is your assessment of how the BJP and the TMC will do?
The BJP will fare badly at the national level… get 246 seats. In Bengal, they will do badly. We are hoping for 36 at least out of 42. But, again, this estimation is without studying the situation on the ground.
How will the Congress-Left alliance perform in Bengal?
I doubt if they will win a single seat.
But the Left believes it is on the cusp of reviving itself in Bengal …
Left rejuvenation is a creation of the media. The Left does not have a single MLA or MP from Bengal. What rejuvenation are we talking about? By how much can they increase their vote share?
The INDIA alliance could have contested together in Bengal, but that did not happen. Will the TMC continue to remain part of the alliance after the election?
What Mamata Banerjee has said is the party line. There is every possibility that the BJP will not get a majority. If that happens, the INDIA alliance may come together. This is in the realm of possibilities. Then, the TMC will play a major role (in the alliance) as we will have a lot of MPs because of which we will play a major role.
Are corruption allegations against a section of TMC leaders a major problem for the party?
Corruption is an irritating factor. But in Indian politics, I have seen that corruption does not become a big election issue, especially at the state level. You look at Jayalalithaa, she had 300 or 500 pairs of shoes. She won the next election. People who have been labelled as corrupt have done well in elections.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and there have been ED raids in Bengal too.
I have never seen a party like the BJP that has used central agencies so badly. Has there been any single conviction? Their purpose is to just give a bad name. As Mamata often says, the BJP is a washing machine. If you are corrupt, cross over to their side, and you will be cleaned. Look at Himanta Biswa Sarma or Ajit Pawar.
A section of party leaders pointed fingers at your age and said senior leaders such as you should not contest polls anymore …
Mamata Banerjee has decided and given me the nomination. The party needs experienced leaders. What they need to look at is capability and the present state of activity. Age alone does not determine a candidate’s level.
How confident is the TMC when it comes to the minority vote?
Minorities are behind the TMC. They have no alternative. They try to assess who will be able to resist Modi and are not naïve enough to think that the CPI(M) will resist Modi with such a low vote share. They know CPI(M) cannot do anything.
What is your pitch to voters?
That they have to choose between authoritarianism and the forces on the side of democracy and secularism. We are also talking about how the Centre has deprived Bengal of funds. We are also highlighting welfare initiatives such as Lakshmir Bhandar. Women will back the TMC, Lakshmir Bhandar has done magic this time.
Who is your primary opponent, CPM or BJP?
In 2014, the CPI(M) got 29% of the votes in Dum Dum and BJP got 22%. In 2019, the BJP’s vote share went up to 30% and the CPI(M)’s fell to 13%. So, 17% of the votes transferred from the CPI(M) to the BJP while ours remained constant at around 42%. Whether the ‘Bam (Left) vote’ will go to ‘Ram’ or stay with ‘Bam’, they will decide. We have nothing to do with it.
Saugata Roy 
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